Investing is a great way to grow your money. And there are many ways to do it, ranging from stocks to annuities to real estate. Those are the types of investments most people think of when they think of investing. But there are also types of investment that might not be as mainstream but may be right for you and your needs. One type of lesser-known investment is an investment in precious metals.
One reason you may want to invest in precious metals is that there has been consistent growth in the most popular precious metals this year, and they’re abundant in the markets. The most popular metals can be easily purchased from bullion traders, market dealers, and banks. In addition, there is an increasing global demand for precious metals, and investors have a wide range of options when it comes to investing in them.
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Gold: The Old Faithful of Precious Metals
Gold is the most popular precious metal to invest in, in part because it’s recognized as one of the most secure stores of value in an investible asset. Because the gold market is not affected by how other, similar markets are doing, gold is a safe haven in difficult economic times. In fact, gold’s price has tended to remain stable when other markets have fluctuated.
Precious metals, in general, can serve as a good fallback when there’s turbulence in the market, which is one of the reasons why they’ve remained popular with certain investors. These days you can even buy gold online. Regardless of its price, gold has a cachet like no other precious metal.
Silver: Surprisingly Valuable in Today’s Market
If gold is the most popular metal to invest in, silver would be the second most popular. Usually, the price of silver is about equal to that of gold. But due to the pandemic, many predicted that silver would outperform gold this year. Silver’s popularity has to do with the versatility of the metal. Many electronic devices incorporate silver. In addition, silver is utilized in the ever-growing solar industry.
Although silver sometimes plays second fiddle to gold, silver can be more reliable in a prosperous economy where demand for the commodity is high. According to experts, industrial demand for silver was expected to rise 9 percent from 2020.
Platinum: Rarer Than Gold
You may not be familiar with investment in platinum, but platinum is another option when investing in precious metals. One reason that platinum isn’t as well known as gold and silver is that it’s more expensive. It’s also harder to find, being rarer than gold and silver. But platinum is actually a primary component in catalytic converters, a tool that has seen wide use in the automobile industry.
An interesting fact about platinum is that it’s the only true hypoallergenic precious metal that you can buy, which makes platinum jewelry a more expensive option than gold. To get an idea about how rare platinum is, consider that about 2,700 tons of gold are mined every year compared to about 80 tons of platinum.
Palladium: The Most Useful of the Precious Metals
Like platinum, you may be unaware of palladium as an investment option. Compared to gold, silver, and platinum, palladium has more of an industrial use. Palladium is often used in many different manufacturing processes and is found in a number of industrial and electrical products. It’s also used in areas such as medicine, dentistry, and groundwater treatment.
Countries such as South Africa, Canada, Russia, and the U.S. are the primary suppliers of palladium, which happens to be more rare than platinum. If you compare the prices of palladium and platinum in 2021, you’ll find that palladium is the more expensive of the two. But this hasn’t always been the case due to demand issues.
Final Word
Investment in precious metals isn’t as well-known as other types of investments, but it may be something you want to look into. A common reason for investing in precious metals is that it provides protection against inflation and tough economic times. The precious metals that people invest in most often are gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Each offers investors something a little different, and they’re worth looking into.
