Rosland Capital – U. S. Gold Eagle Coins in Your IRA.
Posted: January 12th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Investing, Retirement | Tags: Gold, Gold Coins, Investing, IRA, Retirement, Rosland Capital | 21 Comments »A while back, I posted my thoughts on the American Eagle gold coins from Blanchard and Company radio ad I was hearing daily. Well, now it seems like every time I turn on the television, I see a commercial for Rosland Capital U. S. Gold Eagle Coins in your IRA. It’s got G. Gordon Liddy (of Watergate fame) as spokesman.
It looks like a scam, but it’s probably not. Having said that, I don’t think it’s what they make it out to be either. Just like the radio ad, the T.V. commercial makes it seem like gold is the only safe investment and that if you own gold, you’ll never have to worry about your retirement.
This is absurd. First, there is no single investment that never loses value. Second, there is no single action a person can take, no single item to buy that will make your life worry free. Sorry, but that isn’t reality. Life is a sequence of ups and downs; a myriad of risks and rewards. Some investments are safer than others, but nothing is without risk.
Rosland Capital is Accredited by the BBB and has no complaints, so they’re not a fly-by-night bunch of charlatans. But that doesn’t mean that the Rosland Gold IRA is a good deal.
For starters, I’m not sure their IRA product holds actual gold. It may just hold paper obligations to gold. This would essentially be the same as buying shares of the iShares Gold Index ETF (IAU) or some similar index.
The price of gold 1991 - 2007. Photo courtesy of Wikinvest
Aside from what you’re actually holding in your IRA, buying gold has its place, but I’m not sold that now is its time for a place in your IRA. I’m no financial planner to be sure, but as I’ve pointed out on my Blanchard and Co post, the price of gold was flat for much of the 90′s, and has really taken off over the past 5 years or so. That’s not to say it won’t continue to rise, but it seems more likely that it will level off and eventually drop in price. Remember oil in mid-2008? We were headed for $200 per barrel oil and $10 per gallon gasoline. Then the housing bubble burst and oil is now around $40 per barrel. I’d wait to buy when the price dips.
Gold does well in uncertain times, and these are uncertain times. However, I personally think that it’s done about as well as it’s going to for this run and we’ve bottomed out on uncertainty. People eventually reach their limit of panic and become numb to further fear and uncertainty. Investors are people too.
I do think gold, precious metals and commodities in general make sense in a retirement portfolio. They tend to zig when stocks and bonds zag, and if you don’t need the money for 10, 20 or 30 years, you’ll make out fine. But remember to diversify! More than 10% in any sector (commodities are a sector play) is more risk than reward over the long term.
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