Losing Money On Gold


wealthymatters.com

The price of gold has tripled in the last six years, giving investors an annual compounded return of nearly 20%. Compared to bank deposit returns of 8% a year and a volatile equity market, it is hard to argue with proselytizers of gold. But gold hasn’t always appreciated year-on-year. In the four years between 1988 and 1992, the price of gold fell every year. Again, between 1994 and 2001, gold prices declined year-on-year. Indeed, in the quarter century between 1980 and 2005, investors in gold lost 11.74% of their capital. The present rise in gold prices, which took off after the Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008, may reverse. These are the facts to remember,as you try to decide whether to keep your gold or sell.

Bullion India


wealthymatters.comHere is my new discovery for today:Bullion India.I tried it out today and found the sign up easy and customer service good.I find it an excellent way to buy gold and silver at good rates.Given the tiny units in which you can buy the gold,it is the place to go to make token purchases on auspicious occasions when the prices of precious metals generally rise.Also this site is an excellent way to accumulate precious metals a little at a time as there are no storage costs and commissions.

Savitri Jindal’s Assets


wealthymatters.comHave you ever wondered about the assets of the really wealthy?Personally I have always been interested in knowing just where wealthy people have their money.My take is that wealthy people didn’t get that way or don’t stay that way without knowing a thing or two about keeping and growing their money safely.That is why I was interested when I came across her statement, given before the returning officer, while filing her nomination papers in 2009 for the Haryana Legislative Assembly elections.

Savitri Jindal is India’s richest woman. She is the widow of the late O.P.Jindal.In her statement given before the returning officer,Savitri Jindal states that she has moveable property worth Rs 17.75 crore and immovable property worth Rs 25.94 crore.I think it’s interesting to see how much of her money she has in a liquid form.Compare this to our asset allocation.Most of us are bound to have most of our money stuck in our houses.A house is a necessity, but it makes sense to acquire one’s fortune and then splurge on fancy houses rather than try to become wealthy by sinking money in our homes.

Savitri Jindal does not own a car.I think this lady shows us women a way out of owning a depreciating asset-claim you don’t drive.Having a car at one’s disposal is good but owning it might not be so wise wealth-wise.Keep the luxury car purchases for after you reach the stage of acquiring luxury homes. Read more of this post

Gold To Preserve Wealth


Gold is generally believed to be a hedge against inflation.However there has been a spate of articles disputing this belief.I found this nice article here that analysis the relevant data for India http://sachasingh.blogspot.in/2010/01/is-gold-good-hedge.html . The graphs and table below are  extracts from this post.

The graph below shows the movement in WPI and average prices of 10 gms gold in Mumbai from 1970-71 to 2008-09.

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Indian Gold Coins


wealthymatters.comThe world’s first coins were Greek, made in Lydia about 640 BC. The earliest Indian coins were silver, and it was not until about 100 AD that the Kushan emperor Vima Kadaphises introduced the first Indian gold coin, which was a gold dinar bearing the image of Shiva. So India’s history of issuing gold coins dates back almost 2,000 years.Over this length of time India has produced many different denominations of gold coins, which include Dinars, Staters, Kahavanus, Pagodas, Tankas, Ashrafis, Mohurs, Gadyanas, Bhairava Gadyanas, Varahas, Fanams, Koris, Xerafims, and Tolas.

Many Indians make it a point to own gold, if for no other reason than to use it in weddings.Indian brides traditionally have a dowry of gold. This is usually in the form of high caratage gold made into jewellery, often incorporating gold coins. Wedding guests also gift gold coins as lucky wedding gifts. So over the centuries, many ancient , rare and ultimately valuable gold coins have been melted and made into jewellery.Even today there are not many collectors of Indian coins in general or Indian gold coins in particular.So there are many interesting and very affordable rare Indian gold coins even now in danger of being melted down. Collecting such coins which are currently unpopular or unfashionable might be a good idea,especially if a person is not averse to a bit of speculation and /or has an interest in numismatics. Firstly because the collector can obtain interesting, unusual and rare coins at a fraction of the price of coins from a popular series. Secondly if and when interest increases, prices are certain to increase accordingly. Thirdly, it will help to stop rare coins being lost for ever by being melted down. Read more of this post