Archive for the ‘silver ira’ Category

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Is Now a Good Time to Invest in Silver?

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

The trend is that when the value of the dollar goes up, the value of precious metals goes down. The opposite is also true, when the dollar value goes down, the value of precious metals goes up. While this trend is not a certainty, the price of gold and silver is over 70% correlated to the U.S. dollar.

As industrial uses for silver continue to rise, demand for silver will continue. Roughly 45% of all silver mined is now used for industrial purposes. As more countries become modernized around the world, demand for silver will increase.

Silver has medical uses as well. Silver is used as a bactericide, and nearly every hospital uses silver sulfadiazine for preventing infections. Medical devices such as catheters and stethoscopes also use silver.

The bottom line is that silver is scarcer than gold, and is more widely used. Gold is hoarded, which means supplies continue to increase. Silver is used, which means supplies will continue in high demand.

In 1900 the estimate was that there was 12 billion ounces of silver worldwide. By 1990 that dropped to 2.2 billion ounces. In 2007 the supply was down to 300 million ounces. Some expect us to run out of silver in 10 years, which would have a huge impact on the world’s economy. Do you think it would be wise to invest in silver?

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Why You Might Buy Silver Instead of Gold

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Diversify, diversify, diversify. This can be true not only as it applies to types of investments, but can be true when investing in precious metals as well. If you own more than one type of precious metal, you will be better able to ride out the normal ups and downs of the financial market.

Lorimer Wilson, Editor of FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and munKnee.com listed 29 reasons for owning silver over gold, and he said his list is still growing. While we won’t go into all 29 of his reasons, we’ll mention a few of them here to whet your appetite. (Read his complete list here.) Top of the list was that the silver battle is much easier to win due to its smaller market size.

Central banks have no physical silver to use to manipulate the market. Most silver mined is consumed in industrial uses while the amount of above ground gold grows each year. Silver is in higher demand for day to day life due to its many industrial uses.

Due to the lower cost of silver, the average person is better able to afford it in greater quantities as a means of investment than he could gold. Silver has also been in a supply deficit for over 50 years, making the demand higher. Few investors have physical silver in their possession.

Due to the value of gold, there have been more counterfeiting issues relating to gold than there have been for silver coinage. Gold confiscation laws are still on the books in the US, but there are currently no silver confiscation laws. If any of these reasons appeal to you, then you may want to consider adding silver to your portfolio to help diversify and protect your assets.

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Investing in TIPS

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

TIPS stands for Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities and are the closest thing the US government has for a sure bet investment these days. Government backed TIPS provide investors with returns that will keep pace with future inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. TIPS can be bought directly from the government or as low-fee investment funds holding TIPS.

Those who are worried about the inflationary implications of huge government deficits recommend investing in TIPS. TIPS are sold at auction several times each year. They come with maturity dates of 5, 10 or 20 years.

The TIPS bond rises with inflation and falls with deflation. Interest is paid every six months. TIPS also gives some protection against deflation as it is guaranteed to pay at least the original principal at maturity so you can’t lose money.

Gains made on TIPS are exempt from state and local taxes, but not from Federal taxes, so it is best to hold them as part of a Self Directed IRA. ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds can be purchased that invest in a variety of TIPS. Investors in TIPS funds have the option of automatically buying more shares with their earnings to keep their TIPS earnings fully invested.

Those investing in TIPS funds are not as well protected against deflation. Since they are not buying a particular TIPS, the ones they are investing in have probably already grown quite a bit, so they are buying in at a higher rate than the TIPS were originally purchased at. This means that during times of depression, if the TIPS dropped as low as the original purchase price, these investors could lose quite a bit.

Before making any investment, make sure you completely understand what you are investing in and what all the risks are.

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Protect Yourself Now By Diversifying Your Investments

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Investments are almost always a gamble. Rates are constantly going up and down, and there is no guarantee what will happen in the future. There are investments, however, that are much safer than other investments.

Stocks, for example, are usually viewed as high-risk investments. They can get you rich quickly when the stock market is good. Stocks can also leave you empty handed when they crash, making your investment worthless.

Other investments, such as non-traditional investments in precious metals, are viewed as low-risk investments. Gold IRAs and Silver IRAs are the most popular types of precious metal investments. Instead of dealing with the stock market investors are actually investing in actual metal and money.

Diversifying your portfolio can allow you to take some risks, but also have something stable to fall back on. Investing in stocks, bonds, real estate, and precious metals can give you a well-diversified portfolio. That way, if the stocks crash right before retirement you won’t be left empty handed.

Remembering steady investments along with your more risky investments is key to success with your retirement fund. Today’s economy has left many of us with cut backs in work, high credit card bills, and low bank accounts. Don’t let retirement be the same by only investing in one single type of venture.

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Save For Your Future With Gold and Silver

Sunday, April 10th, 2011

Saving for your future has never been easier for Americans. Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs, have been around for over thirty years now. There are a lot of great investment opportunities that individuals can make towards their retirement and future.

Traditional and Non-Traditional
There are two main types of IRAs. One type is traditional, and the other is non-traditional. Many people are becoming more and more interested in non-traditional methods of investment, especially since the stock market is so unreliable.

Precious Metal Investments
One great investment that you can make with your IRA is to invest in precious metals. Gold and Silver IRAs are the most popular type of precious metal investments. There are laws regulating what types of precious metals that you can purchase, however.

The reason for these limitations is because congress wanted everyone investing in precious metals to have the same imposed laws. These laws are there to make sure the investments are fair to everyone. Because of these rules it is very important to find a custodian who is familiar with the rules regarding precious metal investments with IRAs.

How to Find the Perfect Custodian
It is not always easy to find a custodian familiar with precious metals IRA investing. Do your research and find an IRA custodian who has previous experience with working with precious metals. If you are working with a custodian currently that you really like, but does not have a thorough knowledge of non-traditional IRA investing, you always have the option of hiring a second custodian. There are no rules against having more than one custodian working with your IRA investments.

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Add Silver to Your IRA Today

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Silver and gold have a long standing tradition of being good solid investments. Adding Silver to your IRA is less expensive than gold, but will often give similar investment benefits. Having a Silver IRA will add a strong diversity to your investment portfolio.

For over four thousand years silver has been used as a form of money. It has long been regarded as a store of value. Silver was once used as legal tender in the United States as well.

Buying silver coins can be a good way to add to your Silver IRA. US coins minted before 1964 are considered junk coins, meaning they have too low of a silver content for investment purposes. Coins minted between 1965-1970 have even less silver, as they were only clad in silver.

To use coins as an investment in your Silver IRA, you need coins with a much higher silver content. Investment coins need to be 99.9% pure silver. The American Silver Eagle is such a coin, and can be used as an investment in your IRA.

Silver bars can also be used as investments. These silver bars come in various sizes from 10 Troy ounces up to 1000 ounces. Physical silver can be stored in various places, but if you plan to use it as part of your IRA you need to follow the rules set up for that.

You can also invest in silver without actually buying the silver itself. You do this by buying Exchange Traded Funds. These funds represent silver and can be bought and traded as desired.

Another way to invest in silver without having to store the silver is through purchasing silver certificates. Another option is to invest in silver mining operations. In the later case, you are investing in the mine, not the actual silver itself.

Silver investments can be used as a hedge against inflation. Silver, as a precious metal, has intrinsic value all it’s own. Today’s demands for silver are largely in the commercial aspect, especially in electronics and as a biocide.

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Silver IRA

Monday, February 7th, 2011

We’ve taken a look at how gold prices are doing to start the year off. Now let’s take a look at the other precious metals to see how they are faring. As we do this, we need to keep in mind that, like any other investment, there are always ups and downs in the market.

We’ll start by looking at silver prices. This should be of particular interest for those who have a Silver IRA. Those with a Silver IRA probably already know that silver prices rose slowly last spring, and then remained fairly steady throughout the summer months.

During the fall months, silver prices rose dramatically. Prices climbed higher and higher. In January prices took a turn downward, but February is starting out on another upward climb.

Platinum is another precious metal that is highly valued. Platinum prices rose dramatically from March to May of last year, and then took a sharp drop. Prices stayed relatively stable throughout the summer, then began to climb again through the fall months.

In January, Platinum prices continued to rise. Platinum is showing good promise of even higher prices going into February. While Platinum prices are high, they have not yet reached the same peak they had in 2008 before the prices dropped dramatically.

Palladium is another of the precious metals, though less often talked about. Its prices were similar to the other metals in that it rose slightly during the spring, then pretty much leveled off through the summer months. During the fall, Palladium prices once again began rising.

Palladium prices are higher now than they have been in five years. Currently silver prices are the lowest of the precious metals, so it remains an affordable investment for those with a Silver IRA. Palladium prices are the next lowest.

Platinum prices remain much higher than gold prices. Recent changes show all precious metals rising in value. Just remember all investments do have their ups and downs, so only time will tell how well they will actually do.

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How is Silver Used?

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Silver is considered a precious metal, along with gold, platinum, palladium, rhodium, and indium. Precious metals are not very abundant in the Earth’s crust. They are attractive and not chemically active. Silver is often added as an alloy with other metals, especially gold.

These characteristics make silver widely used in jewelry, coins and art. About 10% of the silver mined is used this way. Silver is also used in making silverware and other table settings. Industrial applications of silver include batteries, flexible and solid plastics, bearings, soldering, electronics and catalysts.

Silver can be polished to have 95% reflectivity. Besides being useful in mirrors, it is also used in coatings to reduce sun exposure to the eyes with eyeglasses. It is similarly used on glass buildings to keep the buildings cool in summer and reduce energy costs.

Silver also has dental and medical applications, and is a great anti-bacterial. It is also used in paints and coatings to prevent surface germs and fungus growth. Silver ions are used in water purification.

Silver is also used in solar energy applications. Silver paste increases the efficiency of solar energy collection as electricity. It can also be used on solar farms that use solar heat to produce steam powered generators.

Even with all of these uses, silver’s most important use today is in photography. Three silver compounds are used in photography. About half the silver produced goes into making photographic film.

The second largest use of silver is in electrical and electronic uses. About 20% of silver is used for this purpose. Electricity flows through silver more easily than any other metal.

With the many uses of silver, adding a Silver IRA to your portfolio makes sense. A Silver IRA can be a great investment as well as a safeguard against a sagging dollar. Silver has been used in monetary supplies for thousands of years, so open a Silver IRA today.

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Risks of a Silver IRA

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

As with any investment, having a Silver IRA also carries risk. No matter how good investments sound, they pretty much all have risk. We will discuss here some of the risks associated with a Silver IRA.

All IRAs must be held by a broker who becomes the custodian of the account. There is always a risk of the broker taking off with your money. There is also a smaller risk that the broker will go bankrupt and drain all your funds, though that shouldn’t happen if he was playing by the rules.

Another risk is that the government will change the rules or laws governing your IRA. One example is when they contemplated requiring all IRA investments to be in government bonds. Another risk is that the government may decide to confiscate the silver, perhaps due to banking influence.

A risk of pooling silver together into a storage facility is that it becomes a greater target for criminals. Thus, another risk is that it might get stolen. Ten million dollars of Silver spread around and held by a million individuals is less likely to be stolen than that same amount held in one place.

Another risk associated with IRAs is that when the time comes to use them, there may not really be any benefit to it. The main reason to have an IRA is so it can grow tax-free. If income taxes rise so high that when you take your money out of the IRA it all goes to pay taxes, you won’t really be seeing any benefits.

There are also risks associated with using Exchange Traded Funds.  The ETF custodian vaults the silver and is supposed to keep it safe. Of course there is a great possibility that due to conflict of interest, your silver really won’t be available when you want it back.

ETFs are also at risk if their sponsor goes bankrupt. ETF companies can also sell paper shares of the metal held and can have short sales, which are not backed by metal. This can be used to manipulate prices lower.

Some of the risks listed are faced by all who hold an IRA, not just those with a Silver IRA. If you still want to invest in silver, an alternative option is to store the silver at home where the risk of theft is less. You won’t be able to use it as an IRA that way, but you can avoid most of the risks mentioned in this article.

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Precious Metals in Your IRA

Monday, January 17th, 2011

With the slump in the stocks market, many have chosen to invest in a Gold IRA. While gold is the most well known, certainly it isn’t the only precious metal worthy of investment. Many other precious metals are also doing well as an investment.

Retirement plans are available as Silver, Platinum or Gold IRA. Gold values went up by 29% in 2010. Over the last decade Gold gained over 450%, and some put it as high as 550%.

Over that same time period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just over 20%. Naturally, some companies went under while others did well. While national currencies decline, gold values rise.

Owning precious metals in your IRA has no debts or liabilities. There is less risk of failing companies or bankruptcies. Gold is the ultimate protection from inflation, monetary inflation, banking or financial crisis and strife.

Historically gold and silver has been the ultimate hedge against inflation and hard times. They have formed the basis of the monetary system for centuries. Many individuals saving for retirement may qualify for a precious metal IRA.

During times of economic stress, when the stock market performs poorly, gold does well. During brighter economic times, gold prices drop some as the stock market prices rise. Having more of a global economy also has an impact on gold prices.

Optimism about the economy causes gold and precious metals to lose value. Concerns and fears about the economy’s future raises the value of gold and other precious metals, as more people want to invest in it. All investments have ups and downs, gold and precious metals are no exception.

Those with a Gold IRA know that no matter what the economy does, their gold will have value in and of itself. Gold has intrinsic value, regardless of the economy. Other precious metals have also performed well as IRA accounts.

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