The Best Way to Buy Gold As investment consultants, we consistently encounter the same reaction when telling investors they should own physical precious metals in a certain portion of their portfolios. "You mean buying shares in mining companies, not owning the actual metal, right?" While this reaction, due to a 20-year precious metals bear market, is not surprising (and is, in fact, quite bullish from a contrary perspective), it also highlights that actually buying physical gold, silver or platinum still seems daunting to most investors. What all investors should know is that buying mining company shares represents a leveraged speculation on the trend of precious metals prices; physical metals themselves constitute the ultimate protection against government-created inflation and the resulting decay in your dollar savings. As a full service investment firm, ours [Euro Pacific Capital] offers many ways to gain precious metals exposure. When it comes to the purchase of physical gold, silver or platinum, however, one investment stands out: the Perth Mint Certificate Program. Here's how the Perth Mint Certificate Program (PMCP) answers the concerns most investors have about buying physical precious metals: Fair pricing Perhaps the biggest obstacle that prevents most people from buying physical metals is the question: how do I know I'm getting the best price? Well, this is a fair, if unnecessary, question. Do you go down to the local coin dealer and just take his marked-up rate? If you do, can you trust this stranger to deliver at the agreed upon price if the market moves substantially in the interim? While most such dealers, I'm sure, deal honestly, it is my understanding from investors that this problem does indeed exist. How about the familiar-named gold brokerages or internet dealers? Should you have to shop around? And when searching for various dealers, do investors remember to factor the cost of shipping into the price? Can investors fight the urge, as some brokerages will recommend, to buy precious metals using leverage? Such margin-type financing, in our opinion, is poor advice and defeats the very purpose of buying physical metal in the first place: to hold the ultimate physical financial security. Even worse, some commodity firms encouraged individuals to trade futures contract or buy options on futures contracts. Such activities are highly speculative and should not be confused with legitimate gold ownership. In actuality, pricing should be the least of a gold buyer's concerns; the market for metals is open nearly round the clock and there's only one price that matters - that of the spot market. There's no reason, in my opinion, to pay any other price. Under the Perth Mint Certificate Program, investors purchase metals at the Perth Mint spot market ask WITH NO MARK-UP. The only costs investors need to know about are, as with any quality investment, completely transparent: this program charges a 2.25% service fee applies to non-model state residents and retirement accounts (3% service fee applies to model state** residents) and a $50 certificate fee. A $.25/oz surcharge applies on all unallocated silver PMCP buy orders. A 1.25% service fee applies to liquidations. Factor in the next feature we'll discuss, the program's eye-opener regarding storage, and knowledgeable investors quickly realize why the PMCP is so attractive. Storage Here is the big additional cost to owning gold that many investors don't consider prior to buying or, if they do, is the concern that keeps them from purchasing physical gold: what do I do with the stuff once I buy it? Should one lease a safe deposit box? Increasingly, banks don't want precious metals in their vaults. Indeed, many now prohibit the storage of gold in such boxes thanks to Patriot Act disclosure requirements, so you probably couldn't even store gold this way if you tried. Certainly, the annual fees many bullion banks charge are prohibitive. And how do you know these facilities are not loaning out your gold once you deposit it with them? Do you purchase a safe, dig a hole in your backyard and take the risk of self-storage? Here's where the PMCP delivers its knockout punch: FREE STORAGE. That's right: choose this program's unallocated bullion option and you can store your metal at the Mint for free indefinitely. This feature is particularly attractive for silver buyers because this metal is so much more bulky than gold. Safety We've heard investors groan, "Oh, I don't trust that those certificate programs actually have the gold on hand." The PMCP, however, is not like any other certificate program. Here's why: It is important to note that The Perth Mint buys precious metal when you buy from it and sells when you sell to it on a 1:1 basis - all holdings, whether they be allocated or unallocated, are therefore 100% backed. How can the Mint offer such a remarkable program? Perth's is a functioning mint. It saves money in its day-to-day operations by having this excess metal on hand and, therefore, not being forced at any particular time to lease metal from the market. Unlike the U.S. Government, which has confiscated gold from its citizens once and many fear may do so again in a time of financial panic, Australia has no such history. Indeed, it could not afford to do so because the mining industry is too vital a component of the Australian economy to disrupt in such a manner; this nation could ill afford to cause investors to lose faith in the security of gold. Your Perth Mint account is fully guaranteed by the AAA-rated Government of Western Australia, who is further insured by Lloyds of London, making the Perth Mint the only government backed bullion storage facility in the world! Simplicity Why do so many investors tend to shun physical precious metals and invest in gold and silver through shares in the mining companies? In our experience, it seems to be a matter of convenience; log into your online investment account or call your stockbroker and the purchase of shares can be completed in minutes. Here, too, the Perth Mint Certificate Program answers the challenge - the program's short, 2-page application couldn't be simpler just complete that form, send it in and wire funds. That's it - placing your trade is then as simple as buying a stock: just call to tell your representative when to pull the trigger. Transferability Although the program's certificates are non-negotiable (for investor protection), they are transferable. For a simple administrative fee of $50, an owner can change title of these certificates at any time. In conclusion, although we at Euro Pacific Capital are the exclusive dealers in all 49 states* of the Perth Mint Certificate Program, we do offer an entire range of precious metals alternatives to our investors. When it comes to the purchase of physical metals, however, this program trumps all others. Transparent pricing, safety, low cost - these features and more represent why we believe the Perth Mint Certificate Program represents the best way to invest directly in precious metals. *currently the PMCP is not offered in the state of AZ For more information, contact Danielle Psarras or Matthew Psarras at 800-993-8350. **Model States: AZ, CA, CO, GA, ID, IN, IA, ME, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, ND, OR, UT, WA