Gold, as a physical asset, has for centuries been regarded as an asset that will hold its value over time. It’s relatively rare and its value is respected regardless of political borders. So gold ingots, bars, wafers, minted coins and jewelry with a high gold content have long been favored as safe havens for value. However, storing wealth in such a manner does have some difficulties. Safety and cost of storage are considerations and finding a buyer may be difficult, especially with jewelry and coins which may have high markups for reasons to do with aesthetics and rarity. The securities industry offers some alternatives. A simple way to use gold as part of your investing strategy is to buy units in an exchange-traded fund or ETF. A gold ETF does not, however, own any gold. Rather it holds derivative contracts that are backed by gold. Therefore the fund’s units reflect the changing price of gold. When you sell, you get cash, not gold.
There is another popular way to invest in gold through the stock market. There are many companies engaged in the exploration, mining and production of gold that offer their shares for sale on the stock market. However, the price of gold bullion, as it rises and falls, often has a levered effect on gold stocks. This means that the price of gold stocks is usually more volatile than the price of the underlying commodity. And while your gold stock’s corporate headquarters may be situated in a safe, stable country, its mines may be located abroad and exposed to the downside of some less developed jurisdictions around the world. You may find the price of your gold stock suddenly subjected to a sudden jump in costs, a drop in ore grades, strikes, expropriations, floods and so on. Or worse. Many Canadians will remember Bre-X Minerals Ltd., a company with headquarters in Calgary, that bought a property in the jungle near the Busang River in Borneo, Indonesia. Before the supposed discovery of gold was all exposed as a fraud, Bre-X’s capitalization grew to over $6 billion CAD in 1996. Its shares were soon worthless.
The MoneyLetter •2022-05-04 •
Ken Norquay notes that small investors can move in and out of markets without disturbing a thing. Large investors can’t. Our plans should take this into account.
Today the press is Read More
The MoneyLetter •2022-04-06 •
Ken Norquay notes that small investors can move in and out of markets without disturbing a thing. Large investors can’t. Our plans should take this into account.
Today the press is Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2022-03-14 •
Nick Barisheff of BMG Group Inc. says this is the perfect time to allocate to gold based on all the factors and data during this “perfect storm for gold”.
In December Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2022-02-14 •
Nick Barisheff of BMG Group Inc. says this is the perfect time to allocate to gold based on all the factors and data during this “perfect storm for gold”.
In December Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-12-14 •
Ordinary investors need to know that these are not ordinary times. It’s time to review your risk tolerance. Ken Norquay asks: Are you satisfied with the profits you have just Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-12-08 •
Financial trends illustrate the forces at work in the economic world. Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay wonders how this tangled web will unwind.
“It’s like déjà vu all over again,” baseball’s Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-10-31 •
Ordinary investors need to know that these are not ordinary times. It’s time to review your risk tolerance. Ken Norquay asks: Are you satisfied with the profits you have just Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-09-16 •
From Côte d’Ivoire to Chile, Raymond James analyst Craig Stanley scours the globe for junior gold mine stocks to buy.
Although leisure travel to faraway places remains largely restricted, the movement Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-08-26 •
Gold prices are being driven up by demand from India and China; silver prices by demand from various industrial users. Don Vialoux picks 4 ETFs to buy for precious metals.
Rapidly Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-08-17 •
From Côte d’Ivoire to Chile, Raymond James analyst Craig Stanley scours the globe for junior gold mine stocks to buy.
Although leisure travel to faraway places remains largely restricted, the movement Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-07-27 •
Gold prices are being driven up by demand from India and China; silver prices by demand from various industrial users. Don Vialoux picks 4 ETFs to buy for precious metals.
Rapidly Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-07-26 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay ponders a dilemma: For stock market investors, negative news about the economy is good—positive news is bad. Go figure.
Skeptics like to say: “Seeing is believing.” Read More
The Investment Reporter •2021-07-13 •
Here’s our forecast of what we expect of the economy and the stock market over the next six months.
Here’s our outline of what we expect of the economy and stock Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-06-28 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay ponders a dilemma: For stock market investors, negative news about the economy is good—positive news is bad. Go figure.
Skeptics like to say: “Seeing is believing.” Read More
The Investment Reporter •2021-06-23 •
Gold stocks and physical gold can present disadvantages. A study of the real (inflation-adjusted) return on gold from 1802 to 2012 shows that it rose only 0.7 per cent a Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-06-21 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay warns no investment strategy works forever. It’s like a game of musical chairs: when the music stops, don’t be left without a chair.
Since The Ides Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-06-16 •
An Investor’s Digest survey of securities analysts’ opinions on more than 1,000 Canadian companies found these two resource stocks in the “Top 10” list of “Time to Buy”.
Endeavour Mining Corp. Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-05-17 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay warns no investment strategy works forever. It’s like a game of musical chairs: when the music stops, don’t be left without a chair.
Since The Ides Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-05-16 •
An Investor’s Digest survey of securities analysts’ opinions on more than 1,000 Canadian companies found these two resource stocks in the “Top 10” list of “Time to Buy”.
Endeavour Mining Corp. Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-02-22 •
Equity analyst Don Vialoux says current ‘best buys’ are Canadian securities or ETFs that will benefit from the recovery in the Far East.
As the bite of winter settles in, longtime Read More
The MoneyLetter •2021-02-07 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says when the central bankers change direction, we should too.
2020, the so-called Year of Good Vision, turned out to be the Year of ‘We’ve Never Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2021-01-26 •
Equity analyst Don Vialoux says current ‘best buys’ are Canadian securities or ETFs that will benefit from the recovery in the Far East.
As the bite of winter settles in, longtime Read More
The Investment Reporter •2020-12-13 •
We labour mightily to haul gold out of dark mines only to hide it again in dark bank vaults. And to what end?
Some investors use gold to protect against potential Read More
The Investment Reporter •2020-12-07 •
Some new factors have driven up the price of gold. You might want to buy bullion and gold producers to diversify. Just keep its long-run disadvantages in mind.
Gold trades at Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-12-03 •
In a world where gold exploration stocks can be wildly overvalued, Mike Kachanovsky thinks GoldON is a bargain stock that may be on the brink of a breakout.
There is a Read More
Money Reporter •2020-10-14 •
Continue to buy gradually, emphasizing diversified, conservative Canadian and international (ex US) equity funds.
We think US stock valuations are rather high. We therefore recommend new money be added to non-US Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-09-29 •
Holding gold should be a priority for investors looking to preserve wealth during looming economic uncertainty, says BMG Group president Nick Barisheff.
The term ‘unprecedented’ has been used to explain 2020 Read More
The Investment Reporter •2020-08-25 •
The coronavirus hurt gold mining stock Agnico Eagle’s production and drove up its costs. But cash flow is healthy and it should earn significant free cash flow in the second Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-07-30 •
Here are three royalty and streaming stocks. They enjoy lower expenses and less risk than their operating peers, while enjoying the upside of any successes.
Government responses to COVID-19 are paving Read More
The Investment Reporter •2020-07-21 •
Portfolios perform best with between five and 20 stocks. Fewer than five leaves you unable to achieve portfolio balance and diversification; more than 20 and it is hard to stay Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-07-02 •
Here are three royalty and streaming stocks. They enjoy lower expenses and less risk than their operating peers, while enjoying the upside of any successes.
Government responses to COVID-19 are paving Read More
The Investment Reporter •2020-06-23 •
The coronavirus hurt gold mining stock Agnico Eagle’s production and drove up its costs. But cash flow is healthy and it should earn significant free cash flow in the second Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-06-11 •
Low energy prices and weaker local currencies versus the USD, improve the profitability of silver and gold stocks in Mexico, Australia and Canada.
The best medicine for market reactions to COVID-19’s Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2020-05-07 •
Mining stock specialist Mike Kachanovsky says now is the time to buy heavily discounted precious metals stocks and capture a rebound in this sector that is long overdue.
It seems that Read More
The MoneyLetter •2020-03-12 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says buying energy stocks after the next bear market ends will be like buying the Dow Jones Industrials in mid-1932.
Modern journalism is characterized by repetition. Read More
The TaxLetter •2020-03-08 •
Old tax returns aren’t as much fun as mountain music but they provided an eye-opening experience for Toronto-based accountant Mark Goodfield, a.k.a. The Blunt Bean Counter.
When I was a young Read More
The MoneyLetter •2020-02-20 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says buying energy stocks after the next bear market ends will be like buying the Dow Jones Industrials in mid-1932.
Modern journalism is characterized by repetition. Read More
The MoneyLetter •2020-01-01 •
Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says: Be alert for a sell signal in both stocks and bonds. We should be preparing to buy gold and oil ETFs.
Gold bugs are investors Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-12-25 •
One of the world’s top-10 gold-mining companies and two juniors on the TSX Venture exchange all get ‘buy’ ratings in a recent MoneyLetter round-up.
Toronto-based Beacon Securities mining analyst Michael Curran Read More
The TaxLetter •2019-12-15 •
Shredding some old tax returns was an eye-opening experience for Toronto-based accountant Mark Goodfield, a.k.a. The Blunt Bean Counter.
When I was a young accountant and happened upon an estate return, Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-11-20 •
There is a distinct possibility that the bond market, the stock market and the economy all peaked in the third quarter of 2019. Something is wrong. Beyond the Bull author Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-10-23 •
Ken Norquay recalls the late Richard Russell’s admonition in making the case that investors who have not adopted financial plans that include selling, should do so immediately.
I remember those carefree Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2019-10-20 •
Haywood Securities mining analysts expect a positive backdrop for precious metals and related equities to remain. They name their six favourite gold stocks.
Since the all-time high of US$1,921 per ounce Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-10-09 •
In a recent survey of gold mining stocks, The MoneyLetter featured the world’s largest producer and three juniors—all favored by the analysts that follow them.
Haywood Securities analysts Kenny Smith and Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-08-21 •
In a recent survey of gold mining stocks, The MoneyLetter featured the world’s largest producer and three juniors—all favored by the analysts that follow them.
Haywood Securities analysts Kenny Smith and Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2019-08-01 •
Ximen Mining Corp.’s ambitions begin with re-examining the historic Kenville Gold Mine near Nelson, BC, a funky town more recently known for its ability to mine tourist dollars.
Ambitious junior exploration Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2019-07-11 •
While drugs and gold were the two most popular forms of payment for votes in the recent election in India, portfolio manager Elvis Picardo proffers far better reasons for picking Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-06-19 •
Long term buy-and-hold strategies rely on up trending markets. Long term buy-low-sell-high strategies rely on volatility. That’s why behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay recommends incorporating selling into your investment strategy.
Previously Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2019-05-26 •
While drugs and gold were the two most popular forms of payment for votes in the recent election in India, portfolio manager Elvis Picardo proffers far better reasons for picking Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-04-03 •
Equity mutual fund managers sense a high risk in the stock market and are increasing their cash reserves. But the amount of cash they hold is restricted by the fund’s Read More
The MoneyLetter •2019-03-21 •
It’s tough to get analysts excited about natural resource stocks these days. Words like ‘neutral’, ‘hold’ and ‘average’ reflect the mood of the street for many Canadian natural resource companies.
Pretium Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2019-02-25 •
PI Financial’s Chris Thompson and Philip Ker say investors should watch for a potent reversal and widening of the gold-to-silver ratio to historic highs (roughly 86:1) which will favour accumulating Read More
