Investing super in PMs - the irony! (Plus follow-up question.)

Krakked789

Krakked789

Well-Known Member
This was my post last year, when I was looking for a way to invest my super in PMs:

https://www.silverstackers.com/foru...ustralian-super-investing-in-gold-etfs.92948/

Kindly, the moronic government has provided me with an opportunity to do what I wanted to do back then, without barely lifting a finger. I'm talking about the COVID early super release. I got the 20/21 early release, but unfortunately I missed out on the 19/20 early release...damn!

So, how to deploy these dollars is the question. I'm not asking you what I should do...I'm asking YOU what YOU would do. Please provide reasoning. Cheers.
 
This is what I did, and my reasoning...

I was eligible to withdraw for the 19/20 financial year, but not 20/21 since I’m now back to full time hours and earnings (I’m in hospitality, so we took a big hit during the lockdown but business is booming again for us to levels not seen pre-Covid)

I took out the full $10k, and put $8k into gold and the rest into silver. I’m a lot more bullish gold than silver in the mid/long term, so I bought 1oz cast bars. I didn’t buy straight away though, I received funds mid April but didn’t pull the trigger until late May. The rest I put into silver, and that was only because I wanted to catch up on some series I’m collecting, so that part of the withdrawal was more to ‘indulge’, while still spending on something that will at least hold its value, rather than waste it on electronics or other crap like so many workmates of mine did.

I should mention, I had moved my super asset allocation into 100% cash option, back in late Jan/early Feb, long before lockdowns were a thing. So I wasn’t terribly concerned about potentially losing compounding growth, since it wasn’t really growing in a cash option. My theory is at least I could take some money from that decent pile of “cash” and invest it in a way that I felt more comfortable with, rather than with most options my super has.

I don’t have any regrets, and while I would’ve loved to have been able to take another $10k to drop on metals would’ve been awesome, I’m just glad I have a secure job in an industry that has been brought to its knees.
 
Still looking at an ETF? GDX is an option. Own mid to large cap global gold mining companies, so I guess you're spreading your exposure across nations, currencies and tiers. Means less volatility, means you don't have to research company reports. Stuff like that. I own a position in GDX.

I then invest directly in smaller companies.
 
mongrelmaple said:
This is what I did, and my reasoning...

I was eligible to withdraw for the 19/20 financial year, but not 20/21 since I’m now back to full time hours and earnings (I’m in hospitality, so we took a big hit during the lockdown but business is booming again for us to levels not seen pre-Covid)

I took out the full $10k, and put $8k into gold and the rest into silver. I’m a lot more bullish gold than silver in the mid/long term, so I bought 1oz cast bars. I didn’t buy straight away though, I received funds mid April but didn’t pull the trigger until late May. The rest I put into silver, and that was only because I wanted to catch up on some series I’m collecting, so that part of the withdrawal was more to ‘indulge’, while still spending on something that will at least hold its value, rather than waste it on electronics or other crap like so many workmates of mine did.

I should mention, I had moved my super asset allocation into 100% cash option, back in late Jan/early Feb, long before lockdowns were a thing. So I wasn’t terribly concerned about potentially losing compounding growth, since it wasn’t really growing in a cash option. My theory is at least I could take some money from that decent pile of “cash” and invest it in a way that I felt more comfortable with, rather than with most options my super has.

I don’t have any regrets, and while I would’ve loved to have been able to take another $10k to drop on metals would’ve been awesome, I’m just glad I have a secure job in an industry that has been brought to its knees.
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Thanks for your comprehensive answer. I'm basically doing what you're doing, but I'll tweak the PM percentages a bit. Maybe 50/50 silver/ gold. I'm more bullish on silver than you, but a case could be made that in the short term gold will explode.

Well timed with going to cash in your super. I did that a few year ago - too early, I know. Also, I almost went back 50% into stocks at the bottom...but blew that. There's so much sh*t going on at the moment, that one can easily miss the pulse!

Your last point about having a secure job is probably the most important here. I'm basically out of work, but at least trying to make myself useful...
 
i know there is the argument that money withdrawn from super loses the compounding interest over time. there is also the argument for greater control over your super and whether you will ever see any of it anyway with govt moving the goal posts and changing the rules on a whim.

most here say not to put all your eggs in one basket so i'm not keeping all my super in the one basket. $20k of it will be gold that i have full control of.
makes sense to me.

my stack has never grown so fast.........;)
 
66rounds said:
Could be, or could be the last buying opportunity for a while. As I like to say, I can double down if we drop, but I can't catch up once the train leaves the station.
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I echo your thoughts there 66rounds, some people seem to think that these price smack downs will continue until eternity, but one
of these days they will stop and physical metals will become hard to source for any amount fiat currency.
Better to be a few years early than a day too late.
Keep stacking and dont take no notice of the naysayers.
 
Jason1 said:
Aka FOMO
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Could call it that or could call it lazy stacking. I am not a sophisticated investor. I buy metals because they help me save my income. Price is irrelevant until I go to sell. If price falls I get more bang for my buck. But if it continues to rise I want to make sure I've locked away as much as possible. So any opportunity to buy is a good opportunity to me.
 
66rounds said:
Could call it that or could call it lazy stacking. I am not a sophisticated investor. I buy metals because they help me save my income. Price is irrelevant until I go to sell. If price falls I get more bang for my buck. But if it continues to rise I want to make sure I've locked away as much as possible. So any opportunity to buy is a good opportunity to me.
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I understand what you mean, however this is some ones super we are talking about not spare change.
For that reason extra precausions should be undertaken with advice.
This is $10k of some ones future.
And right now when silver is being sold with $7+ per ounce above spot on premiums for just generic cast bars, thats when its a bad time tobe buying large sums of silver.
The shortage wont last forever so those premiums will go down.
The premiums is the problem right now and makes buying now with super a bad idea. Hold off for when premiums subside instead of buying overinflated prices. You almost need 2011 prices before you break even if you buy now at current premiums.
the Premiums are what is making it a bad buy right now, not spot price.
Allot of people have got burnt on silver over the last 40 years by just buying willy nilly with no regard for prices or even price history.
You dont want tobe that person.
Silver can be a very good investment but can be a very bad one if you play it wrong with no strategy and pin it all on to the moon wishfull style thinking.
 
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Jason1 said:
I understand what you mean, however this is some ones super we are talking about not spare change.
For that reason extra precausions should be undertaken with advice.
This is $10k of some ones future.
And right now when silver is being sold with $7+ per ounce above spot on premiums for just generic cast bars, thats when its a bad time tobe buying large sums of metal.
The shortage wont last forever so those premiums will go down.
The premiums is the problem right now and makes buying now with super a bad idea. Hold off for when premiums subside instead of buying overinflated prices. You almost need 2011 prices before you break even if you buy now at current premiums.
Premiums is what is making it a bad buy right now, not spot price.
Allot of people have got burnt on silver over the last 40 years by just buying willy nilly with no regard for prices or even price history.
You dont want tobe that person
Silver can be a very good investment but can be a very bad one if you play it wrong with no stratagy and pin it all on to the moon wishfull style thinking
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Oh I agree re silver, it is a very hard train to jump on. I am the resident goldbug haha.
 
66rounds said:
Oh I agree re silver, it is a very hard train to jump on. I am the resident goldbug haha.
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Yes, its a good train, but you need to know what your doing.
Cant just buy willy nilly with silver, need tobe more strategic.
 
Jason1 said:
Its a shit house time tobe buying physical right now.
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So what would you be doing and why?
Staying in cash?
Going to stocks?

You didn't answer the question.

Also, this is NOT advice. It's simply your opinion.
 
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Holdfast said:
Not all silver is just silver.
Not all gold is just gold.

"The right time to buy"

Folk were buying 1 oz gold 2014 Lunar Horses at $1,641.78 on 02 September 2013 and they were told it's the wrong time to buy.
Folk were buying 1 oz silver 2017 Swans at $36.04 on 05 April 2017 and were told they had rocks in their head.

What you buy, when you buy, why you buy and how long you hold is a personal choice, which comes down to
knowing the market.

All silver isn't silver and all gold isn't just gold.

Diversification into metal products isn't just buying a bar of gold or silver.

Silver on a percentage basis outperforms gold.

If you cherry pick your stocks, cherry pick your metal and remember that one day you may wish to sell.
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So what would you do in this situation and why?
 
Let me reiterate:

- NOT advice
- Yes, everything in life is a goddamn personal choice!
- What would YOU PERSONALLY do? (NOT what I should do. Repeat - this is NOT a request for advice!)
- Why? Repeat: WHY?

Clear?
 
I'm buying liquid sort gold coins, as close to spot as possible.
Bought a decent rooster (20 francs) last week for 1.7% over spot and 4 QEII sovereigns for 2.5% over spot; as well as 2 Young Vic shields in VF but I paid 10% over spot for those.
It's slow going, though.

I think @mongrelmaple has a good strategy with the cast gold blobs. (BTW Just a year or two back PM was selling the 1oz blobs for $20 over spot, now they've upped it a notch to $25 - I suppose it's proportional and fairish due to the hike in gold price.)
I wish I had bought more of those back in the day for a "foundation" stack - easy to liquidate and no "emotional strings" attached.
 
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