Are you looking for an investment vehicle that will protect some of your money from recessions and inflation? You should consider investing in silver. It’s available at a much lower price point than other precious metals, so even if you don’t have enough to invest in gold or platinum, you can still buy some silver.
As a precious metal, silver has inherent value that makes it a good hedge against inflation for any investment portfolio. Its value isn’t tied to the stock market, so economic crashes and recessions don’t affect its value. But because it’s heavily used in industry and jewelry-making, silver experiences price fluctuations that could give you the chance to cash in your holdings for healthy returns.
An Investment in Silver Protects Against Market Volatility
Precious metals of all kinds are a time-honored investment vehicle because they tend to be more stable over time than stocks. While stocks historically perform well enough that you can more or less count on earning strong returns over a long enough time period, there’s no guarantee that a market crash won’t happen right as you’re hoping to cash out your stock holdings.
Adding some silver to your portfolio can add some protection against that market volatility that could see much of your savings disappear in the blink of an eye. It’s true that silver is more tied to the stock market than other precious metals, because of its use in industry – but it nevertheless holds an intrinsic value, unlike stock market shares that are only as valuable as the market determines. That’s why precious metals are considered a conservative investment – they hold their value well in the face of stock market dips, so they’re appealing to investors who can’t or won’t tolerate much risk.
Silver Holdings Will Safeguard Your Wealth from Inflation
The whole point of investing your money instead of just saving it is that investing gives you the chance to maintain the purchasing power of your cash even as inflation whittles away at the value of the dollar. Silver, just like other precious metals, maintains its value well over time. The value of silver is not tied to the value of the dollar or the health of the stock market. When inflation decreases the value of the dollar, the value of your silver holdings will just go up to keep pace with inflation.
Silver Offers the Chance for Healthy Returns
Silver is an industrial metal, which means that its price can be more volatile than the prices of other precious metals, especially gold, which has far fewer industrial applications than metals like platinum, silver, and palladium. That means you have the chance to get good deals on silver when demand for the metal is low and prices drop. It also means you have the chance to sell your silver bullion for healthy returns when industrial demand for the metal goes up again.
You Don’t Need to Buy Silver Bullion to Invest in Silver
You might be reluctant to invest in silver bullion because owning physical precious metals can be a hassle. Physical silver is vulnerable to theft, fire, and loss. You need a safe place to store it, and that can cost money, especially if you’re using a bullion storage vault. And silver, being one of the cheaper precious metals, piles up quickly. If you’re planning to invest a large amount of money in silver bullion, you can also plan on storing quite a lot of physical metal.
However, you don’t actually need to buy silver bullion in order to invest in silver. Many investors choose to buy stocks in a silver mining company, or a precious metals streaming company that buys precious metal by-products from mines for processing. Investments in mining and streaming companies will carry the same risks as any other investment in the stock market, but they’re also easier to liquidate than physical bullion.
If you want a silver investment vehicle that’s a little bit safer than owning stocks in a mining or streaming company, you could choose a silver mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF). These funds sometimes hold physical silver, and they may also hold shares of mining and streaming companies. They offer the same protection against inflation and market volatility as buying silver bullion, but they’re easier to liquidate and aren’t bulky to store.
If you’re looking for a safe investment vehicle to protect your money from inflation and swings in the stock market, you should consider an investment in silver. It’s been a currency metal for thousands of years for good reason – and now you can put it to work for you.