Joshua Rotbart Discusses Gold as an Investment with Pearl Magazine
On November 4, 2019, Joshua Rotbart spoke with Douglas George on TVB Pearl about why Gold as an Investment is a stable option during these potentially unstable economic times. During the video, Joshua takes us into a private vault, providing some insight into the security and meticulousness involved in storing and assessing gold bullion bars.
Is Gold as an Investment for the times?
Welcome back. The International Monetary Fund expects Hong Kong’s 2019 economic growth to plunge as the US-China trade war continues and the SAR’s political unrest rages on. China’s GDP will also ease. Sentiment in the city is also on a similar downward path. But fret not, there’s always a silver lining, right? Or perhaps a golden one. Douglas George asks if opportunity lurks in the shadows in the form of Gold as an Investment.
Banks see gold as a safe-haven investment
Pearl Magazine: It’s a day to weigh in here at this precious metal vault at the airport. Investor Joshua Rothbart says central banks are hoarding gold, driving the price higher. He’s here at the vault to check his own holdings. The banks have bought 374 tons of gold in 2019, the most since 2010, amid the uncertainty of the US-China trade war and a sluggish outlook for global growth, turning to the safest of safe havens.
Douglas George: Joshua, tell us what you’ve got in your hand there.
Joshua Rotbart: This actually is money before we invented money. This is one kilogram of pure gold bar, worth about 55 thousand US dollars in today’s value, and you can identify it easily by the four marks: the refinery who refined it, the purity, the serial number, the unique serial number for each bar. And actually, you can take this bar anywhere in the world and cash it for money, so this is the ultimate global currency.
Top gold investors are wary of scales
Pearl Magazine: Safe maybe, but you have to make sure a kilo’s worth is really a kilo.
George: Joshua, why do you have to turn the AC off before you weigh the gold?
Rotbart: This is a very delicate scale approved by the London Bullion Association. It costs over $50,000, and it is so sensitive because we want to be accurate when we weigh the gold. So, we weigh the gold, making sure it’s the right weight, but any movement of air can affect what you see on the scale.
George: So, movement of air….?
Rotbart: Even movement of air. Let me blow on this bar, and you can see on the scale.
Gold holdings are moving globally
Pearl Magazine: Joshua says there’s been a global shift of gold reserves from traditional storage centres like Switzerland, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve. He says central banks like the People’s Bank of China want their pile of yellow metal closer to home. It reflects the tensions in the world economy but also the recent construction of more vaults in Asia. Private investors have shifted theirs too, but to other centres like Singapore, and even China. The optics in Hong Kong aren’t too clear at the moment. Joshua thinks the traditional portfolio ratio of gold holdings to other assets is too low.
Top portfolios hold 3-10% of their value in gold
Rotbart: The common wisdom is anything between three to ten percent — it’s been proven that three to ten percent Gold as an Investment in one’s portfolio enhances the performance of their portfolio. Having said that, personally, I can tell you I think it should be higher than ten percent, even 15 or 20. The world is very uncertain, and it’s changing. And the more the world is changing, we believe gold will remain a major asset and a very stable asset.
Gold is doing well and can do better
George: But it’s at a six-year high, right?
Rotbart: At the moment, in US dollar terms. If you look at other currencies…
George: Is that too much to start accumulating?
Rotbart: Not at all, because we’re still below 2011 prices, so we’re still 20-30 percent less than the height of 2011.
Pearl Magazine: Advice worth its weight?
Don’t miss the gold train
George: All right, let’s admit it. Things aren’t going so well these days on the economic side. But there is an old saying when an opportunity comes knocking at the door, you let it in. Someone also said, if an opportunity does not come knocking at the door, you build a door. I suppose what that means is, if things aren’t so hot on the economic side, look for something better on the investment side.
As you may have gathered, Gold as an Investment is a very appealing investment option that should be part of your investment portfolio. If you are interested in diversifying your assets to include gold or would like to expand your holdings in gold or other precious metals, contact J. Rotbart today. Joshua and his experienced team can explain your options and help determine the best solution that suits your specific precious metals needs.
Watch the full video here.