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07 October 2008
How and Why You Should Buy Physical Gold Offshore
Well, I haven’t been blogging here for a few weeks, because as I explained
I was taking some well deserved rest and relaxation. But, I certainly came back
with a bang – right in to the middle of what already is the most serious
global financial crisis in generations, despite the US Treasury and others still
claiming that they are trying to “avert” a crisis.
Unsurprisingly, troubles with big banks in the USA have spread into the offshore
orbit, with UK taxpayers bailing out an Isle of Man bank (Bradford and Bingley)
and the Luxembourgers bailing out their local arm of Fortis, the former Banque
Generale du Luxembourg where I used to do international corporate business some
years ago.
Any illusion of free markets disappeared long ago. This might account for why
the dollar is stronger than it was a few months ago despite the Fed printing
seven hundred billion more of them! (Any rational person can see that this just
adds to the debt and cannot be good for the long term) The price of gold has
been topsy turvy lately and only risen marginally until now, despite an unprecedented
shortage which has means very
few people can actually get their hands on physical gold at the moment.
The fact that an unprecedented demand does not drive the price higher tells
us a lot about how these markets are being manipulated. Still, gold is the ultimate
‘safe haven’ store of wealth and I’m sure the price is set
to go a lot higher – at least in dollar terms.
On the subject of gold, I am advising clients more than ever to buy real, physical
gold – if they can! Gold ETFs, which have become very popular in the last
year or two, are not a substitute for the real thing. What if the bank or fund
manager goes out of business? What if trading in the shares is suspended, as
for example short selling was just suddenly banned? What if the whole exchange
is suspended as has happened in the past? Shares can be subject to massive manipulation
and liquidity problems. I believe we will see dual gold prices from now on –
one ‘official’ spot price which ETFs will try to track, and another
price for physical dictated by pure supply and demand. This will be the real
free market price at which you can actually buy and sell real gold in the real
world.
So how does one go about buying real gold? There’s no easy answer to
that. I asked one of my bankers about buying gold just last week, and the response
was that the storage, transport and audit fees would be very expensive, but
that it was possible, but that ETFs or Perth Mint Certificates would be much
better. When I finally got across the message that I wanted to receive several
hundred thousand euro’s worth of gold in my hands and walk out of the
bank with it, I was told that the compliance department would never countenance
it. So apparently they were quite happy to sell me a product, but not for me
to actually take possession of it! That might sound bizarre to most people who
are used to buying and selling most kind of goods, but it does not surprise
me in the least. That is just typical of today’s financial system!
If you would like to know where you can really buy gold and receive it, there
are some links
on this page which I will also be updating and adding to shortly as time permits.
Watch this space for more!
P.S. I have set up a page on Twitter, at which you can see my tweets –
very short commentaries of 150 characters or less. Check http://www.twitter.com/qwealth
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established
newsletter dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing
wealth in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living,
banking, retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
You have been
reading an entry on the following blog:
The Q Wealth Report Peter Macfarlane of The Q Wealth Report blogs on Freedom, Wealth and Privacy
Other recent
entries in this blog:
19 November 2008 You Don’t Know Until You Go! It’s a few weeks since my last blog entry, and the reason for this is
that I have been travelling in Latin America with a small group of investors
– concerned privacy-minded and freedom loving individuals who are concerned
about how our financial and personal freedoms are being gradually eroded. We
had an interesting ten day trip starting in Panama City then taking in Paraguay
and Brazil.
When I talk about “concerned individuals” what I really mean is
that if and when things get worse in the western world – in terms of financial
and political restrictions - it’s important to be prepared. An established
business or residence presence in one of the more remote corners of the world
will be a great fallback or hedging position. Even a second passport or citizenship
might be your ultimate goal.
You might be surprised to learn that Paraguay scores highly on all this –
a free society, no personal income taxes and an economy that is completely self
sufficient with plenty of fresh water and clean, green power. In fact Paraguay
is the world’s largest exporter of hydro electricity, and one of the highlights
of the trip was a visit to the Itaipu Binacional hydro-electric power plant
– the largest in the world, and an incredible feat of engineering and
international co-operation. We also visited the spectacular Iguassu Falls, one
of the seven wonders of the natural world.
But the most important thing I think we all learned from this trip was the
importance, even in this internet age, of actually getting on a plane and seeing
things for yourself. We all know the comfort of familiar places and people,
but that often also comes with a feeling of frustration, a feeling that we are
not in full control of our lives as we should be. On the other side, we all
have a natural fear of the unknown. This internal fear is perpetuated by the
mainstream media. But by confronting and overcoming it we can open up a whole
new world of opportunities.
For example, one of our delegates, a successful UK businessman, said TV and
press coverage had led him to believe he would find machete-wielding individuals
a mile or two from the financial district of Panama City. But by going there
and getting a feel for the place by visiting local and expat-owned internet
businesses, he found instead that it’s a great place to do business. Now
he is making plans to move his operating base down there instead.
Here at The Q Wealth
Report our business for over a decade has been writing about not just how
to preserve your assets offshore, but how to create wealth and develop opportunity
by actually living offshore. As a famous offshore author once said, “You
don’t know until you go.” The instability in the world right now
means that you truly need to know about safe places and new opportunities. Right
now would be the time to start, and here on lowtax.net you will find a lot of
information to begin your quest.
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established newsletter
dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing wealth
in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living, banking,
retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
28 October 2008 Why the Financial Crisis Doesn't Really Matter Well I needed an attention grabbing headline! Maybe I’m exaggerating
a little if I say it doesn’t matter. No disrespect to the many financial
services professionals who read this blog. What I really wanted to say, is that
it’s time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Does it
have to matter to you? Do you want it to matter?
For weeks now we’ve been glued to our screens, watching the latest news,
share prices, currency rates and so on. In this article I want to suggest a
different approach. It took me a long, introspective walk on the beach last
week to figure this one out, and now I will run it by you.
It’s easy to get drawn in by mass media hysteria. That’s what happened
to me as the bailout plans unfolded. But at the end of the day, why get stressed
by things we can do nothing about? Let me restate two facts we all know already:
The market is no longer free, nor is there even any pretence of a free market
economy. A huge part of the global financial system is now in hands of governments.
Apart from the obvious intervention (bailouts) you don’t have to be
a conspiracy theorist to see there are lots more political factors playing
out behind the scenes. Lots of special interest groups. Lots of infighting.
The media is in business to make news. There was a time when reporters
reported. Now, they don’t. They take stories from the internet and rewrite
them, changing them a little so as not to stand accused of plagiarism.
It would be hard for anyone to dispute these two facts in isolation. The conclusion
I draw from these two facts combined is that it is simply not worth participating
in the financial markets anymore – not unless you happen to be a central
bank, maybe.
What we need to do is concentrate on living. During that walk on the beach,
I thought back to some decisions I made years ago. They have stuck with me and
served me well ever since. I decided I wanted quality of life – a healthy
life with friends and family. Time to do things I believed in, that pleased
me. In other words – I wanted to be in control of my life.
That is why, back when I was a business student in London in the early nineties,
I didn’t jump on the bandwagon and apply for a job with a big American
investment bank. I knew a lot of people who did, and sure they made a lot more
money than I did. But their lives didn’t seem to me to be complete. Or
maybe it just seemed too much like hard work for me.
That’s why now, I don’t want to be a slave to the TV and the endless
market watching sites. If I can’t do anything about it, I might as well
look for better things to do with my time.
When times look tough, the Americans talk about ‘heading for the hills.’
I headed for the beach in Latin America, with a few stopovers in European cities
on the way. And I’ve never regretted it for a moment.
Now, just in the last few weeks, I’ve talked to a lot of people who have
been dreaming for years about a “new life offshore” but now they
are really taking concrete steps towards that goal. It is really possible to
live better, live healthier, at lower cost, make money using the internet, and
– best of all – you can hedge against the effects of the financial
markets in a way that you would never achieve with even the most sophisticated
derivative!
Maybe now is really the time to do something about it, if you are one of those
people. If the financial situation is pressuring you, it could be time for that
radical change you have been putting off. Don’t doubt your abilities.
Grab your spirit of adventure, stop gambling on rigged markets, and move yourself
offshore!
If you are interested in this topic, I’ll be addressing more specifics
of how to achieve this in my blog entries here over the coming weeks. I’ll
also talk about more recession-proof investments and businesses you can start
from scratch – all in a low tax environment of course! No promises as
to specific dates, but I will certainly cover this topic more! And if you would
like to investigate this through a more in-depth approach (i.e. peek ahead),
you can read articles in this vein by myself and others at www.QWealthReport.com
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established newsletter
dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing wealth
in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living, banking,
retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
Penelope Wise
Penny Wise but not Pound Foolish! But remember: I am not offering investment advice. My comments are just for your general information; I do not recommend investments, and you should take professional advice before entering any investment contract.
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