Cheat the credit crunch by investing in gold

As the fragility of the financial markets continues to affect investors around the globe, it’s tempting to put your hard-earned cash under the nearest mattress and pray for the end of the credit crunch! While reluctance to invest in stocks and shares is becoming a reality for many, the prudent and financially savvy know that there are alternative investment options. One such choice is to liquidate funds tied up in the volatile stock and property markets and instead invest them in the more secure gold marketplace.

As executive director of Gold and Silver Investments, Stephen Flood explains, the early stages of this modern gold rush has seen demand for gold and silver bullion increase while supply is decreasing. This makes investment in bullion a much safer bet during the economic downturn.

Mr Flood, said, “Investor confidence has certainly taken a knock, and it really is not hard to see why. When you choose to invest in bonds and equities you do take a serious risk. The performance of these financial investments depends on the performance of other corporations, governments, banks and the wider global economy, which as we are all aware seems to be crumbling under pressure.”

For many, transferring their money into silver and gold bullion, gold bars and gold certificates may initially seem somewhat of a foreign prospect. However, as the experts at Gold and Silver investments, outline, gold is a non-replenishable precious metal, ensuring its value continues to grow. Proof of this is the central banks reluctance to sell their gold monetary reserves. This show the usefulness of these reserves as a security blanket, protecting economies from market risk and runaway inflation.

Mr Flood added, “At Gold and Silver Investments we have been experiencing an increased demand for these types of financial investment. We’re witnessing a definite upturn in the number of investors wising up to the benefits of transferring their money into gold and silver bullion. It seems ironic that at the present time gold production remains flat and many countries are experiencing declining levels of production.”

Australia in particular bears witness to this shifting productivity. It experienced a 13 per-cent slump in gold production in the second quarter of 2008, marking any 18 year low for the previously fertile nation. In fact, out of the three largest gold producers (Australia, South Africa and China), it is only the Asian superpower that has so far been able to increase its gold production in recent years to supply the burgeoning gold jewellery market and shore up its economic future.

Despite this supply drop, the latest figures from the World Gold Council revealed that demand for gold topped a record $32 billion during the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 18 per-cent.

Mr Flood added, “Gold is the ultimate insurance against economic and financial difficulties. It is not uncommon to protect yourself against other situations such as ill health, and in the same way, investing in gold makes sense from a wealth preservation perspective. It is important to bear in mind that any financial investment should not be carried out not in anticipation of economic or financial difficulties, but simply in case of them."

About Gold and Silver Investments

Gold and Silver Investments are a financial services company specialising in wealth preservation strategies. They provide asset diversification services to investors, companies and institutions in the EU and internationally.

Gold Investments offer their clientele a variety of investment options and asset classes. These include precious metals, pension products (equity, property, bond and cash funds) and deposit products.

For further information, visit goldassets.co.uk