Sunday, December 27, 2009

Gold - Should you Invest in it?

New year investment tips from the news channels. Each and every business new channel are bringing on so call "experts" to give tips to the investors throughout the country. However it has become a more of a PR exercise rather than an informative sessions.

One of the pet peeves of the so called "experts" is to sell gold to investors. Gold is a safe option, gives good return and blah blah blah..

New generation would avoid gold. Who needs them? And even if they want it, they do not want a half a kilo dangling around the neck with quarters dangling on the ears? People are opting for lightweight designs. And come on guys people want lifestyle products they can use in every day life, not something they keep in lockers. Given them a camcorder worth 40K which captures every day life on hard disk at HD resolution. A digital camera for the moments. An iPod, a printer for printing moments, a netbook, a high end mobile phone and if you are flushing with cash, a car, a 42 inch Plasma/LCD TV, a home theater.

Gold would only occupy the place in the locker, not earning interests on it. Just lying there in a corner of the cupboard or a bank locker. The money is not in circulation and hence the economy takes a beating. And who buy gold to sell it later and make profit. Repeat after me, gold is not a stock.

The only people whom buying Gold make sense is the Government, because its value would not diminish in case of currency falling. The current generation is moving from looking good, to feeling good. And when you are feeling good, you are going to look good buddy. Definitely.

I would refrain people from investing in Gold. At the most somewhere around 250 - 500 gm and that's it. Not more than that. There are places to visit, life to live.