Being an investor, beginner or seasoned, means that you are always searching for the best way to grow your wealth. Investors who feel more confident to take their chances and make a good profit are scanning the internet and other sources of information to find good investment opportunities. Investing in Platinum and other precious metals could be a fine solution to the problem.
Some follow the normal way of investing in the usual financial products offered such as shares etc. In the past few years people who were fond of these products saw their portfolios being reduced in value due to the severe financial crisis that hit the United States and countries in Europe. Some shares have regained some of their value but it’s natural for investors nowadays to feel stressed and uncertain about the future.
Precious metals have correlations with other asset classes that are low to negative. Therefore, if your investment portfolio includes even the smallest percentage of these, it will reduce both volatility and risk. In times of uncertainty, metals have proved to be a safe haven for investors, providing a beneficial diversification from common paper assets that could be threatened by international decline. Gold and Platinum’s intrinsic values are also currency-independent, serving as a hedge against inflation. Any investment comes with risks, including the economy itself’s unpredictable nature. Yet precious metals have stability that can hardly boast of any other investment.
The investment vehicles that you could use for investing in Platinum are many: Exchange-traded products (ETF) which means that Platinum is is traded as an ETF (exchange-traded fund) on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LSE: PHPT and on the New York Stock Exchange as ticker symbols PPLT and PLTM. There are also several ETNs (exchange-traded note) available, some of which are inverse to the price of platinum.
Platinum bars are available from different foundries in different sizes, like 1 oz, 10 oz, 1 kg. Platinum coins are another way to invest in platinum, although relatively few varieties of platinum coins have been minted, due to its cost and difficulty in working. Since 1997, the United States Mint has been selling American Platinum Eagle coins to investors. Some Swiss banks offer platinum accounts where platinum, like any foreign currency, can be bought or sold instantly. The investor does not own the real gold, as opposed to physical silver, but rather has a claim against the bank for a certain amount of metal. Another investment option is to create a futures contract where a predetermined time and place is designated to buy or sell the platinum. Unlike options, the transaction is an obligation, and not a right. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) trades in platinum futures with a minimum contract size of 50 troy ounces and 500 grams respectively.
CDFs on the price of the metal or buying shares in Platinum mining companies are the last two options that an investor should think about when planning his investment strategy. Platinum and other precious metals are always going to be needed for various uses in the industry, making it a good investing option and very investor-friendly for the creation of diverse portfolios.