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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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Rainy Day in Goldland

hank
edited June 7 in Other Investing
Whew! Gold’s price is off $70 $80 late in the day at around $2300. GDX which tracks gold miners stocks is down almost 7% for the day. It’s very pretty stuff to look at - but tough to invest in. Always has been. YTD however, both precious metals and the miners are still ahead. Today I jumped back into GGN a CEF that focuses on gold, industrial miners & energy. It’s normally very tame compared to the action in metals and commodities. (Not a recommendation)

Comments

  • FD1000
    edited June 9
    Gold has been mentioned on/off for years. It has been a bad investment over a long term and if you are a good trader why use it?
  • shipwreckedandalone
    Since GLD inception 11-18-2004 recent history:
    CAGR SPY 10.07% VBINX 60/40 7.38% and GLD 8.52%.
  • hank
    edited June 9
    shipwreckedandalone said:

    Since GLD inception 11-18-2004 recent history:
    CAGR SPY 10.07% VBINX 60/40 7.38% and GLD 8.52%.

    Interesting. Since inception GLD has done a little better on average than VBINX. However, VBINX’s inception date is about 12 years earlier (1992).

    I agree with FD that gold hasn’t been a good investment compared to stocks. Can’t give you a good reason to own it. It does receive some attention from the financial press and is held by many central banks. There have been brief periods over the years where it outperformed many other investments. Very pretty stuff to look at I think. But that’s in the eyes of the beholder.

    Possibly of interest - Costco selling as much as $200 million in gold bars monthly


  • shipwreckedandalone
    At some opportunistic point in the future I will be a buyer and hold for many reasons.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    "Costco selling as much as $200 million in gold bars monthly"

    I wonder if they have their "same-day" delivery service using their minimum wage delivery drivers for those?. And would you have to tip the delivery person in gold?
  • hank
    edited June 9
    …
    Old_Joe said:

    "Costco selling as much as $200 million in gold bars monthly"

    I wonder if they have their "same-day" delivery service using their minimum wage delivery drivers for those?. And would you have to tip the delivery person in gold?

    I think I read somewhere you can only buy them in the stores. Where’d Costco get it? Probably just @rono selling off his surplus

  • Observant1
    edited June 9
    I visited Costco last week.
    The "greeter" at the entrance held a sign which stated gold bars were in stock.
    I was aware Costco started selling gold a while ago but haven't seen it promoted like this previously.
    I'm not sure if gold bars were physically available for sale in the store.
  • Observant1
    edited June 9
    Old_Joe said:

    [snip]
    I wonder if they have their "same-day" delivery service using their minimum wage delivery drivers for those?
    [snip]

    Costco has a reputation for paying their employees well within the retail industry.
    Indeed indicates the average salary for Costco truck drivers is $28.05 per hour
    which is 20% above the national average.
    https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Costco-Wholesale/salaries/Truck-Driver

    Edit/Add: Costco Pay Ranges PDF
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    "Costco has a reputation for paying their employees well within the retail industry."

    Yes, they do, and my rather feeble attempt at humor was probably better left unsaid. My apologies to Costco.
  • Observant1
    No worries.
    Many of my own attempts at humor have failed.
    I'm not going to quit my day job to become a comedian any time soon!
  • yogibearbullyogibearbull
    edited June 10
    Costco gold bars/biscuits, 1 oz, are in very limited supply. They are gone as soon as the new supply is loaded. Maybe the store signs alert to the current availability.

    There used to be a limit of 2 per membership, but in the current order screen, the limit is 5.

    What started as a small experiment overwhelmed what the supplier could provide. But things may have improved. But est $2.4 billion/yr in gold sales at Costco is impressive.

    https://www.costco.com/1-oz-gold-bar-pamp-suisse-lady-fortuna-veriscan-new-in-assay.product.4000186760.html

    https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/costco-selling-up-to-200-million-in-gold-bars-a-month-wells-fargo-estimates.html
  • hank
    edited June 10
    Observant1 said:

    I visited Costco last week.
    The "greeter" at the entrance held a sign which stated gold bars were in stock.
    I was aware Costco started selling gold a while ago but haven't seen it promoted like this previously.
    I'm not sure if gold bars were physically available for sale in the store.

    I hope Costco polices their parking lots well. $2300 per Troy ounce ain’t chump change. Safety / Security = main reason I have no physical gold. I did bend a bit and buy a few collectors grade Carson City Morgans maybe 8-10 years ago. Stored at a local bank. Have appreciated nicely. A lot of that kind of stuff moves along with the precious metals.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    " I did bend a bit and buy a few collectors grade Carson City Morgans maybe 8-10 years ago."

    @hank- I'll bet you were listening to @rono on that one.:)
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