Bar, Concerning BRK, rather than owning Berkshire itself, I decided to own some of their stocks, 6 so far -- Aon, Apple, BYD, Coca Cola, Occidental, and Procter & Gamble. But only small positions since I have a $1000 limit for individual stocks. Here's the full portfolio as of now, with the bulk in the broad S+P 500 indexes -
Suggestions and ideas are welcome :o) After you mentioned your recent mid-cap investment, I decided to get some IJH also, along with the Vanguard mid cap ETF (VO). I think our portfolios also overlap with Danaher and Cintas.
Concerning gold, I have some from years ago, but I think the current rule on sales tax is that it's collected on bullion items, but not on official government released items that are legal tender. Not sure if that's the exact rule now however. Either way you want to stick to only large reputable dealers like Apmex. There are reportedly a lot of fakes out there these days.
I wouldn't go overboard with metals though. Not only have central banks long suppressed the gold price, but during stock market crashes (2008, 2020), gold has dropped more than stocks. Even with the current very high inflation, it has performed poorly.
Having a modest % in gold as disaster insurance makes sense, but the idea that one day money will inevitably be gold-backed again seems increasingly remote. Central banks will continue to have gold reserves, but that is more as a 'reality principal' for their reserve currency system. For domestic use, currencies will all be CBDCs/Central Bank Digital Currencies, and gold will have no involvement.
Unlike silver, gold doesn't have much utility value other than as jewelry and as money. If it isn't going to be money again, there isn't much reason for it to be $1800/oz. Imo, better to invest in other hard assets like land, real estate, or fine art if you can afford a few Rembrandts :o) If you have some serious money, you can't go wrong with owning a few classic Ferraris. I had the chance to buy a Dino 246 back in the late 1970s for $7500, and those now go for $300 - 800 K.
Bar, As an addendum to the earlier gold discussion, there is a scenario where gold does in fact become backing for money again. Russia and China are reportedly setting up a rival monetary system with the BRICS that is designed to challenge the dominance of the US dollar reserve and SWIFT systems. One way to enhance their new alternate monetary system would be to give it a gold backing, or partial backing.
Given their druthers, the Western central banks would just as soon never have gold backing again, but they could be forced into it by the competing Chinese/Russian/BRICS system. Partial gold backing would make the rival monetary system very attractive when compared to the purely fiat US dollar. Anyway, something to consider. Jim Rickards recommends having 10% of one's investable assets in gold -
>>> Russia and China are brewing up a challenge to dollar dominance by creating a new reserve currency
Russia and the other 'BRICS' countries are working on an alternative reserve currency that would rival the IMF's SDR.
Russia and China are developing a new reserve currency with other BRICS countries, President Vladimir Putin said. The basket currency would rival a US-dominated IMF alternative and let Russia widen its influence, an analyst said.
The dollar's dominance is already eroding as central banks diversify into the Chinese yuan and smaller currencies.
Russia is ready to develop a new global reserve currency alongside China and other BRICS nations, in a potential challenge to the dominance of the US dollar.
President Vladimir Putin signaled the new reserve currency would be based on a basket of currencies from the group's members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
"The matter of creating the international reserve currency based on the basket of currencies of our countries is under review," Putin told the BRICS Business Forum on Wednesday, according to a TASS report. "We are ready to openly work with all fair partners."
The dollar has long been seen as the world's reserve currency, but its dominance in share of international currency reserves is waning. Central banks are looking to diversify their holdings into currencies like the yuan, as well as into non-traditional areas like the the Swedish krona and the South Korean won, according to the International Monetary Fund.
"This is a move to address the perceived US-hegemony of the IMF," ING's global head of markets Chris Turner said in a note. "It will allow BRICS to build their own sphere of influence and unit of currency within that sphere."
Russia's move comes after Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war all but cut the country out of the global financial system, curtailing access to its dollars and putting pressure on its economy.
"The speed with which western nations and its allies sanctioned Russian FX reserves (freezing around half) no doubt shocked Russian authorities," ING's Turner said.
"The Central Bank of Russia effectively admitted as much, and no doubt some BRICS nations — especially China — took notice of the speed and stealth at which the US Treasury moved," he added.
Those sanctions have likely encouraged Moscow and Beijing to work on an alternative to the IMF's international reserve asset, the special drawing rights, Turner suggested.
While it's not a reserve currency, the SDR is based on a basket of currencies made up of the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and Japan's yen — as well as China's yuan.
One possibility is that the BRICS basket currency could attract the reserves not just of the group's members, but also countries already in their range of influence, he suggested. These include nations in South Asia and the Middle East.
Russia has seen its currency the ruble rebound to above its pre-war level, thanks to central bank support, after it plunged 70% in less than two weeks after the Ukraine invasion. It has risen 15.2% in June to 1.87 cents. Meanwhile, the yuan has held steady at around $0.15 over the same period.
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