Am considering changing some of my AUD to CHF.. anyone here considering doing the same, and what pros and cons are awaiting mid to long term? http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=AUD&to=CHF I heard, in the 80's i think, alot of Aussies got burnt by transferring to CHF.. wasn't a good buy as most people thought. It might serve a purpose during a short-mid term event then factors may sway away from it.
Not bad for diversification - the 3 currencies I see doing well short term are AUD,CAD and the Franc. Don't know if it will do any better than AUD or CAD but if your in it to diversify it's a sound option.
CAD is very much like AUD, our economic structures are quite similar and I personally believe that AUD/CAD correlation is relatively high and would do for a poor diversification option. CAD and AUD are 'speculative' currencies. CHF on the other hand is a strong currency used as a reserve currency after the big fiat players such as USD and Yen. Their economy is also highly stable and they do not rely on resources like Australia does. Also, the swiss have Credit Suisse and UBS
I'm with Fishball on this one. Like i've said before the Swiss franc is like the cockroach of currency's it will survive nuclear war. Also with the Swiss considering partly backing there currency with gold that really can only help it more.
Would it matter if i chose FOREX or swapped cash for cash? Can get cash for cash with little extra cost at current market rate. I go overseas quite alot so maybe holding cold hard CHF might be way to go while still building up PM's in Oz
You could look at holding options instead of cold hard cash if you believe AUD will tank against the CHF for example. OZforex does offer this service I believe, although I have never tried it. As long as you get the best rate it doesn't matter if its in cash or in numbers
Spot on swapping fiat for fiat is for the timid. Swiss Francs are great but they falling along with the rest. Choosing which one will end best is like choosing the winner of a 'torn parrachute skydiving competition', the winner is the one that crashes into the ground last...but the result is the same for all the contestants!
Actually gold is down 4% in CHF since 1st Jan. http://www.24hgold.com/english/gold_silver_prices_charts.aspx?money=SWF 5 year trend though still shows gold outperforming CHF. The short term graphs however show a different story.
Interesting. Seems to have tracked pretty closely to it even though they arent even backed by gold anymore.
+1 Where would you hold your Swiss Francs? In cash in Australia or a foreign (eg Swiss) account? Be aware that if you hold it in a swiss bank account you get basically no interest. There are special accounts there that the locals use to get a return on their savings, can't remember what they're called though. Another option is to buy gold in Switzerland, store it there, sell it eventually to a bullion company, take your CHF and cash it for AUD, that's if the AUD will be worth anything in years to come - maybe you can pick up a double bonus in the process ie gold price rises, CHF to AUD exchange rate climbs? Don't know if that would work. Basically you gotta ask yourself - which has a greater guarantee of providing security and a return - foreign cash or PM's?
Gold would be better than fiat for sure, particularly re long term wealth preservation... but in the meantime still need to use fiat. Spending alot of time overseas, i like to use whatever fiat stands its ground the most. Just trying to work out which turd is the best out of the pile. I'm quite frugal so trying to squeeze the most out of what i have.
SNB moves to halt rise. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sw...halt-rise-2011-08-03?link=MW_home_latest_news
*enjoys the pun* I'd be interested in the cons. :| The pros I see are: -diversification -possible safe-haven to the EU on its collapse.
Well doesn't CHF basically mimic the behaviour of gold on the market anyway? Whilst it is considered a safe-haven currency it hasn't been backed by gold since 2000. If it still was, I would be all for it, but things have changed. Gold is real money and if you are merely trying to protect your buying power put your fiat there, otherwise for investment look beyond both gold and CHF - they are both just stores of wealth. I also see there being risk if massive volumes move to swiss francs for protection then dump it simultaneousely when threat passes. This type of event wouldn't change the fundamentals of gold, yet it could damage or crash an economy. I don't see that as a solid argument. Why are you assuming a country would want to take down CHF? An economy could collapse due to market forces. I do agree though that many of the rich and powerful individuals and companies around the world store their welth there, and therefore have interest in trying to prevent collapse if it ever became a possibility.
