WAYS TO INVEST IN SILVER

1. Physical Acquisition and Accumulation: Physical silver can be held either by yourself, or at a bonded silver warehouse. If you go the route of having it held by someone else, you want to be able to prove that your holdings were not co-mingled with the silver of other investors. Firms that handle physical bullion sales include:

• North West Territorial Mint.
• American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX).
• The Tulving Co.

2. Exchange-Traded Funds and Stocks: The following ETFs will give you exposure to silver prices via futures, or physical silver held in ETFs, or in the case of the Ultra Silver Proshares, you will have a 2x leverage move (meaning your gain, or loss, will be double the market move in silver prices).

• iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV)
• ETFS Silver Trust (NYSE: SIVR)
• PowerShares DB Silver (NYSE: DBS)
• E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Silver ETN (NYSE: USV)
• Ultra Silver ProShares (NYSE: AGQ)

There are equity-based investments that focus on silver bullion production. Here is a list of a few that trades on major exchanges.

• Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW)
• Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE)
• Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS)
• Silver Standard Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI)
• Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL)

3. Options on Futures: Finally, there is the futures market, where you can purchase contracts of 5,000 oz. each. Please note, however, that these contracts open you up to unlimited risk, and should not be traded without doing your due diligence, and making sure you have a sound strategy to manage the risk. They do, however, provide a direct leveraged bet on silver prices.

THE GOLD BULL MARKET IS INTACT

The recent drop in the price of silver and gold has been very healthy for the precious metals market. It is good for the market to give itself time to consolidate its gains before moving to  higher prices. Corrections are good opportunities to add to long positions over the coming months.

There are plenty of reasons to buy gold now :
Stagflation is unfolding worldwide, the eurozone is experiencing higher inflation while economic growth is trailing expectations. Ireland, Greece, and Portugal are basket cases, while Spain is holding on by a thread. ECB is raising rates to alleviate their inflation problems, the net effect being to put more pressure on the PIGS while strengthening the Euro which is hurting economic growth.

The U.K. is almost a basket case with inflation close to 4%, while economic growth is barely positive. Bank of England is frozen in place, if they raise rates too soon to combat inflation they will damage the economy.

The BRICS are battling high inflation by raising interest rates, and are not getting the results they expected . China raised interest rates multiple times since October, as well as a number of increases in the reserve requirements for the banks.

In the U.S GDP dropped from 3.1% in the 4th Quarter of 2010 to 1.8% in the first Quarter of this year. All inflation measures are on the rise PPI is over 5%, import prices over 9% and the CPI is approaching 3%.

According to the St. Louis Fed numbers, the Adjusted Monetary Base is increasing at a rapid rate, in the first 3 months of  2011, the monetary increase was almost 30%.

Central Banks from Russia, India, China, Mexico, Bolivia, Sri Lanka  made recent purchases, while the developed countries central banks have discontinued their sales. Gold has reclaimed its role as the ultimate store of value and a monetary asset.

It seems like the gold bull market is very much intact because we are in the very early stages of a stagflationary period. Because of the high price volatility expected, you should plan to accumulate gold positions over the coming months in one of the ways explained on this blog.

Gold orientated funds

The term "collective investment vehicles" includes mutual funds open-ended investment companies (OEICs), closed-end funds, unit trusts, and any similar structures. A number of these vehicles specialise in the shares of gold mining companies and operate in various countries.

Funds usually differ in their structure. Some invest in shares of gold mining companies, others seek value in companies mining other minerals. Many funds will opt for a diverse approach, perhaps investing in futures and mining equities. Other funds may opt for a combination of gold mining equities as well as holdings of the underlying metal.

GOLD IRA

One option that is currently very attractive is the purchase of gold and precious metals within a Self Directed IRA account. There can be material benefits to this form of Gold ownership, but as with everything these days, there are also some specific rules that must be followed in order to have the investment be qualified. For example, only specific US gold, Silver and Platinum coins are allowed like the US Gold and Silver Eagles, along with other bullion coins that meet specific fineness standards (.999 pure) such as the Canadian Maple Leaf.

Rolling over a Traditional or Roth IRA into a Gold-backed IRA is relatively simple. The term "rollover" actually refers to the rolling over of assets in a 401(k) plan when the employee has separated from his/her employment. Separation from employment is the key to the ability to rollover the 401(k) assets into a Gold-backed IRA. If no separation has occurred, then chances are very high that the plan holder will be barred from moving the assets out of the employer's 401(k) plan.

When it comes to existing IRAs, then the term "transfer" applies. Existing IRAs with banks, credit unions, stock brokerage firms or other financial service providers can be transferred directly to a referred trust company. One very convenient option is to transfer either the cash in the account or the securities themselves

Gold mining stocks

Gold mining stocks are a popular way to gain exposure to gold and the opportunity for outperformance.
The gold mining sector is large and liquid. Over 300 gold mining companies are listed and publicly traded on various US stock exchanges alone.
Investing in gold mining stocks is a logical substitute and complement to investing in other forms of physical gold. That’s because the value of the stocks is driven significantly by the price of gold.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Gold backed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) are traded on a variety of stock exchanges around the globe. These regulated financial products are designed to provide investors with exposure to the price performance of spot gold bullion. Many of the currently available products are backed by gold bullion held in secure vaults. This is a principal distinction from derivative-based products that track the gold price, but which are not wholly-backed by physical gold bullion.

The largest of the physical gold bullion backed ETFs is SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). Launched in 2004, GLD was the first such product to be made available in the US.

ETFs provides investors with a relatively cost-efficient and secure way to participate in the gold bullion market without the necessity of taking physical delivery of gold. By increasing investor understanding of the role gold plays within a balanced investment portfolio, ETFs have played a prominent role in establishing gold as a unique asset class.

Coins and Small Bars

Bullion coins

Investors can choose from a range of gold bullion coins, issued by governments across the world. These coins are considered legal tender for their face value, rather than their gold content.

The market value of bullion coins is determined by their fine gold content, plus a premium or mark-up that varies between coins and dealers, the premium tends to be higher for smaller denominations.

Bullion coins may range in size from 1/20 ounce to 1000 grams, although the most common weights (in troy ounces of fine gold content) are 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce. It is important not to confuse bullion coins with commemorative or numismatic coins, whose value depends on their rarity, design and finish rather than on their fine gold content. Many dealers sell both.

Small gold bars

Gold bars can be bought in a variety of weights and sizes, ranging from as little as one gram to 400 troy ounces (the size of the internationally traded London Good Delivery bar). The definition of a small bar is one that weighs 1000g or less.

There are 110 accredited bar manufacturers and brands in 27 countries. Between them they produce a total of more than 400 types of standard gold bars, all of which normally contain a minimum of 99.5% fine gold.