Bart Brands is one of the experts who will speak during the Investor Café, which will take place on May 16 at Landgoed Hooge Vuursche. Brands has been one of the most important experts in the field of precious metals for years. According to him, there are a number of good reasons to give gold a place in a defensive investment portfolio right now.
Bart Brands is the precious metals specialist at Gold Republic. He is the point of contact for customers and acts as an expert on everything related to precious metals, especially gold. In this role, he has been keeping a close eye on the most important developments surrounding gold for a long time. He also regularly makes videos about everything going on in the world of gold and macroeconomic issues.
Brands: “Then you not only have to think about history, but also about current events. The response of the gold price to macroeconomic and geopolitical developments. Gold is an interesting indicator from which you can read numerous economic trends.”
Macroeconomic developments and gold
According to Brands, a number of important economic developments are currently affecting the gold price. The most important thing he sees is that the entire world seems to be struggling with the same economic problems right now. Let’s start with inflation.
According to him, the policy of Central Banks has become ‘uniform’ worldwide. “First a long-term zero-percent interest rate policy with enormous quantitative easing programs. Then a sharp increase in interest rates. Which leaves a lot of people struggling with living costs.”
In the meantime, Brands sees that the debt problems around the world have increased enormously. Governments spend massive amounts of money they don’t have. Tax policy also forces citizens to incur more and more debt. “These factors together are inflating the bubble more and more. That makes the bursting of the bubble a real risk.”
Five reasons to invest in gold
According to Brands, there are five reasons why investing in gold is a good way to protect yourself against economic uncertainty:
- The value of gold is historically fixed
“Gold has proven its value as a precious metal for centuries. Gold has a stable value. Gold is always in demand. Gold does not decay but remains what it is. The great thing about gold is that its value is not geographically tied. The value of gold is recognized all over the world. Whether you are in Africa or North America. Gold can take you anywhere.”
- Follow the policies of the central banks
“Central Banks around the world are currently purchasing gold at a rapid pace. Apparently they feel the uncertainty in the air and are preparing for tough times.
- Gold protects against inflation
“An important reason to also have gold in your portfolio is that you can protect yourself against inflation. With gold you can correct the depreciation of a currency. If you look at the past twenty years, you will see that gold has risen in value by an average of 9 percent annually during that time. There are admittedly bad years in between. But also outliers. An average return of 9 percent is considerably higher than the interest on a savings account.”
- When everything falls, gold rises
“Gold often moves contrarianly in a portfolio. When your investments and bonds fall, gold usually rises. Gold is therefore not only inflation-proof, but also crisis-proof. You actually hedge against periods of unrest. Four or five years ago, gold was still worth around forty thousand euros. That is already seventy thousand euros. That also shows how uncertain the world has become in the past five years.”
- Gold guarantees the building of generational prosperity
“If you buy gold and you hold on to that gold, you will not only experience the increase in the value of gold over the course of your life. You also transfer something to the next generation. That is why it is such a good permanent allocation, to store value without having to worry that that value will quickly decline. It is the best way to build and maintain wealth. The euro may no longer exist in ten years. The composition of the AEX changes continuously. But gold, you can be sure that it will always exist. Gold is eternal.”
Sign In!
Curious what else Bart Brands will tell you about the eternal value of gold and how you as an investor can make use of it? Then register quickly for the Investors Café, May 16 at Landgoed Hooge Vuursche. Be quick: because the number of places is limited!
This article was produced in collaboration with GoldRepublic.
Tags: Gold ultimate hedge inflation stability uncertain times
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