I had a good laugh at Doug Casey (see below) with his gold and cows as I was discussing similar investment strategies with a close friend several weeks ago. We where thinking if you already have a core holding of precious metal in your SMSF (Aussie equiv. of a US IRA or UK SIPP) what do you invest in next? And one of the things that popped up was rural land and cows. Actually we took the idea as far as finding a suitable place to invest. See it here
 |
| Eccleston, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia |
From the Washington Post
Hard assets aim to offset "low yields, choppy markets and a flood of uncertainty from Europe's debt crisis"Surveys of the world's wealthy elite, as well as major media outlets, are increasingly documenting people who exit traditional forms of investments in exchange for tangible assets and collectibles. The Washington Post is the latest to detail this trend, in an article featuring longtime goldenthusiast and contrarian investor Doug Casey of Casey Research:
"Beset by low yields, choppy markets and a flood of uncertainty from Europe's debt crisis, investors are increasingly looking to nontraditional assets to bolster their portfolios. The goal is to detach themselves from the ups and downs of stocks and bonds while building wealth in tangible items they enjoy. Some buy rare books, photos or paintings. Others allocate a portion of their savings to fine wines.Precious metals, in the form of gold coins as well as jewelry, are also popular."
Doug Casey of Casey Research told The Post that he's buying gold and cows.
Casey buys a few one-ounce gold coins each month -- a habit he started years ago and continues today, despite the bull market in gold prices. Since 2006, he has also been investing in cattle ranching in Argentina, where he owns about 150 dairy cows and 2,000 beef cows.
"I wish I could come up with other things," he said, but "I don't know what else you should do right now."
His main worry is the United States' $15.8 trillion national debt, which he says makes gold a sensible investment even at its price of late, about $1,600 an ounce. He worries the debt will spur inflation, which would devalue the dollar, while goldwould retain its value.
"Having 50 percent of investable assets in gold now is completely reasonable," said Casey, who runs his own investment research firm, Casey Research, in Stowe, Vt. "I just buy some every month, and most people don't have anygold coins, so I just suggest that they buy some and start getting into the habit."
Read more
SMSF is a confiscation tool of the government
ReplyDelete