Silver vs. Stocks

[RD5]

In my opinion, silver is a much better investment than stocks for a long term. Now I don't know a boatload about stocks, but I do know about silver. I personally like silver for the fact that it's physical, I can see it and hold it know it's mine. With stocks, I feel like what I'm buying isn't exactly there. Also silver will always be needed for industrial reasons. What are some reasons silver is a better investment than stocks?

[Slaphot]

Silver has no conterparty risk.
Silver is finite.
Silver is shiny

[wheeler_dealer]

Depending on form of silver it is recognizable (nationally and globally), divisible, untracable, easily transferrible. Doesn't require registration. Can not be diluted.

[NHsorter]

I love silver! Physical holdings are quite important imho. That being said, stocks are ownership of a company. Pick the right company and it will make money every year for many many years. Many of these companies (the right ones) actually hold a large amount of commodities that are resistant to inflation. Don't discount what the right stocks can do for you.

[scyther]

Individual stocks have a much higher upside and a much higher downside than silver. Silver will never increase one thousand fold from it's current value. The right stock could. But silver will also never go to zero. Stocks could. Stocks as a whole won't go to zero, but I'm not sure the stock market has too much upside now considering how high it is. I could be wrong. Metal is shiny and nice and you can hold it in your hand. It is ancient and wise. Thus it's appeal.

[ScrapMetal]

Hard to say, as with both, many factors that determine value are out of our control. Also which ever goes down, does the other go up?
If I had to chose, I would go with silver. I just feel more comfortable having it in my possession.
Silver is fairly easy to sell and if done in private deal, may avoid some tax consequences that stocks present.

[argent_pur]

In my opinion, silver is a much better investment than stocks for a long term. Now I don't know a boatload about stocks, but I do know about silver. I personally like silver for the fact that it's physical, I can see it and hold it know it's mine. With stocks, I feel like what I'm buying isn't exactly there. Also silver will always be needed for industrial reasons. What are some reasons silver is a better investment than stocks?

What determines, to your mind, what a "better" investment is? That needs to be clearly defined because if my sole investment goal is current income, silver doesn't achieve that goal and would be of no use to me.

If you don't know much about stocks, is it really appropriate to determine that they are in any way inferior to silver? I sold my silver at $48/oz a couple years ago and bought back in at $27.50 recently. I'm holding it for capital appreciation purposes...the rest of my portfolio is in stocks that produce income. So, silver has its place and stocks have their place *for my particular investment goals*. Furthermore,if silver will always be needed for industrial reasons, it stands to reason that *industries* will be around to use the silver, so your confidence in the continued use of silver is, at the same time, a confidence in the future of industry itself. As long as firms are doing business, they will need access to capital markets (equity and debt), and when you buy stock, you are most certainly buying something that "is there". Every time I fill up my car at Shell, I'm reminded that I own a small part of that company. I can see the company, know that it's (partially) mine, and it certainly is physical.

However, if you define a "better" investment by your ability to hold it in the palm of your hand and by no other criteria, then silver wins over stocks hands down. It all depends on what your particular goals are.

[IdahoCopper]

Just remember, if you posted the same question on a stock discussion forum, you would get the exact opposite answers, and lots of "reasons" why those answers are valid.

[argent_pur]

Silver has no conterparty risk.
Silver is finite.
Silver is shiny

1. True enough, silver doesn't have counterparty or "default" risk, but the value of your investment is absolutely dependent on the actions of others who may not share the same goals with you, namely, commodity futures traders.
2. Silver is, indeed, finite, but the implication is that there is some characteristic of stocks that is infinite. I guess theoretically, a company could issue an unlimited number of shares of stock, but do companies actually do that? No. There are companies that have over 10B shares outstanding and, yet, their market caps are finite, the types of final products they produce is finite, the inputs they use to make the final products are finite, their access to debt and equity markets is finite...heck, the closest thing a publicly-traded company has to the infinite is the CEOs salary!
3. There is no counterargument I can find on this one, silver definitely has stocks beat in the category of shininess:) (And, incidentally, silver also beats stocks when it comes to ductility, malleability, and the prospect of finding some buried under sand at the beach!)

[argent_pur]

Just remember, if you posted the same question on a stock discussion forum, you would get the exact opposite answers, and lots of "reasons" why those answers are valid.

Exactly! That's why I say it depends on one's investment goals (if they have indeed thought about what those are).

[PennysaverCP]

Silver doesn't deposit quarterly dividend checks into your account like stocks.

[fasteddy]

Hmmm lets see my stock account is way way up...my physical silver is still in the safe. I feel good.

[Klark Cent]

Silver doesn't deposit quarterly dividend checks into your account like stocks.

Yes, I believe Warren Buffett pointed that out. He said precious metals create no cash flow like dividend paying stocks or rental properties.

I think of buying silver (and other tangible goods) as buying insurance against the dollar.

[barrytrot]

Silver doesn't deposit quarterly dividend checks into your account like stocks.

Sell options on your silver. Bingo - problem solved.

[Ecotic]

I'm primarily a stocks guy. Dividends that are reinvested offer enormous returns. And there's so much opportunity out there right now for lightning quick and substantial returns. For instance when Japan announced 2 months ago that they were initiating a program to inflate the yen, I knew that any of those Japanese exporters who were being hammered by the strong yen these past few years were exactly the companies I needed to sink my money into before earnings season for a very quick return. Nintendo for example is a company that does like 80% of its business overseas and was trading at $11.35 when the announcement hit (it was such an historically basement price that I had no reservations about going in). I moved as much as I could into their ADRs and then sold at $15 less than 2 months later. I'm still giddy about that one.

Metals can be great investments too, but I generally prefer to trade ETFs to take advantage of the dips and highs. After gold stabilized at $1350 recently I went in and I've now sold at $1450. I couldn't really do that with physical gold because craigslist and ebay have inelastic prices, they don't adjust fast to the change in prices. And plus when it comes time to sell it's a huge hassle. I hate having to carpet bomb all the largest nearby craigslist cities with ads, and have to deal with competitors flagging my listings, I waste gas and time meeting them, and if I use ebay I have to deal with their fees. It just sucks! Trading ETFs is lightning fast. Just keep your eye open and have an account with an online broker ready and have the money needed to take advantage of opportunities.

[scyther]

I'm primarily a stocks guy. Dividends that are reinvested offer enormous returns. And there's so much opportunity out there right now for lightning quick and substantial returns. For instance when Japan announced 2 months ago that they were initiating a program to inflate the yen, I knew that any of those Japanese exporters who were being hammered by the strong yen these past few years were exactly the companies I needed to sink my money into before earnings season for a very quick return. Nintendo for example is a company that does like 80% of its business overseas and was trading at $11.35 when the announcement hit (it was such an historically basement price that I had no reservations about going in). I moved as much as I could into their ADRs and then sold at $15 less than 2 months later. I'm still giddy about that one.

Nice. Do you think Nintendo still has much upside? I kind of want to buy some.

[Ecotic]

I'm primarily a stocks guy. Dividends that are reinvested offer enormous returns. And there's so much opportunity out there right now for lightning quick and substantial returns. For instance when Japan announced 2 months ago that they were initiating a program to inflate the yen, I knew that any of those Japanese exporters who were being hammered by the strong yen these past few years were exactly the companies I needed to sink my money into before earnings season for a very quick return. Nintendo for example is a company that does like 80% of its business overseas and was trading at $11.35 when the announcement hit (it was such an historically basement price that I had no reservations about going in). I moved as much as I could into their ADRs and then sold at $15 less than 2 months later. I'm still giddy about that one.

Nice. Do you think Nintendo still has much upside? I kind of want to buy some.

Honestly I don't, sorry. Nintendo's current President is clueless. The Wii U has been a huge disaster. In their latest earnings report they initially said they'd have 5 million Wii U's sold by the end of Q1 2013, then they said 4 million, and then last week in their earnings report it was 3.45 million. They were only able to report a profit because of the weakening yen. They basically built a console for 2013 using 2006 technology. The Wii U is barely more powerful than the Xbox 360 released in 2005. Nintendo has become a cheap, regressive company. The Nintendo 3DS is having decent sales and that's their only bright spot. It's really a shame too because the video game industry has been a lifetime love of mine and Nintendo has mountains of cash and talent and they could be King again within a decade with the right strategy. They'll never be a lucrative company again until their current President (Satoru Iwata) is forced to leave due to disappointing profits.

I really think Sony will run away with the lead once their Playstation 4 hits. I think the sales and marketshare dominance the Playstation 2 had is achievable with the Playstation 4. I say this because of the incredible feedback it is receiving from game developers and game publishers regarding Sony's strategy with the PS4, and also because Microsoft won't have the 1 year head start like they had with the Xbox 360. I'm also hearing nothing but negative feedback from game publishers and developers about Microsoft's next console because Microsoft is supposedly imposing heavy Digital Rights Management restrictions like forbidding used games (a huge part of the overall market,) and because their next system is reportedly not as powerful or capable as Sony's PS4. If Sony can make the Playstation 4 achieve the level of dominance the Playstation 2 had then their stock is considerably attractive at the current bargain price it's at. Sony's President Kaz Kirai is a fan favorite and he's really turning the company around.

[scyther]

Well, I'm glad to hear Microsoft's DRM will hopefully hurt them. I hate when they do that. Interesting about the PS4, I didn't even know that was coming out any time soon. Too bad about Nintendo, I've always liked that company since the old days (N64, Gameboy, etc.) but honestly I haven't been paying attention in a very long time.

[Ecotic]

Yep, Sony's announced the Playstation 4 in February and confirmed it will be out this Christmas. Microsoft is holding an event next month to unveil the successor to the Xbox 360 (it should be out this Christmas, at least in the U.S.).

Check out this launch title for PS4 due out this Christmas, the graphics are unreal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjQ4DJXLzw

[RD5]

Yep, Sony's announced the Playstation 4 in February and confirmed it will be out this Christmas. Microsoft is holding an event next month to unveil the successor to the Xbox 360 (it should be out this Christmas, at least in the U.S.).

Check out this launch title for PS4 due out this Christmas, the graphics are unreal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjQ4DJXLzw

Depending on your PC graphics on PCs can still put perform the ps4, easy

[DaMangRon]

Sorry to post to an old thread but I found this interesting. How about buying stock in a silver mining company? I bought in @ $12.05 to a mining company about 3 months ago ticker symbol PAAS. It's now @ $15.13 and they just released their yearly report. They made $824 million in profit even with silver price down 25%! They forecast the stock to be in the $18 range and right after this report the stock was upgraded from hold to buy.

All this happened on Friday, so if you're looking for a stock to buy....This one may be a good buy at the opening bell tomorrow. Oh and FYI it pays 3.3% quarterly dividend!

[johnbrickner]

Yep, Sony's announced the Playstation 4 in February and confirmed it will be out this Christmas. Microsoft is holding an event next month to unveil the successor to the Xbox 360 (it should be out this Christmas, at least in the U.S.).

Check out this launch title for PS4 due out this Christmas, the graphics are unreal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjQ4DJXLzw

Depending on your PC graphics on PCs can still put perform the ps4, easy

And everything that lead up to this. Isn't it amazing what people will do to keep themselves amused. For my uncle in Nebraska it's a tractor pull. Never underestimate the lengths people will go to, to keep themselves amused. It's a sure bet, especially during bad economic times.

Back on topic.

I own all three. Stocks, PMs, and stocks of PM mining companies. My precious metals is for if the world goes to inflation shat, collapse, or worse. The stocks of PM mining companies is for if the world goes to deflation shat (in addition to cash, pennies, and nickels). And the stocks (most all are retirement) are for in case I am wrong. I also have some shares of dividend growth stocks I've either held for a decade or two or have gifted them to my children. The less assets I have showing, the less likely I am to be sued or have to pay taxes on.