Ireland’s Mr Gold Reveals Nuggets Of Wisdom For When The Next Crash Comes
-- Published: Friday, 30 November 2018 | Print | Disqus
Editors note: I am not sure what to make of being called “Ireland’s Mr Gold” but I suppose you could be called worse. For me, my fellow founder Stephen and our excellent team, it has never been about gold itself, but rather it has been about the benefit that gold provides to our clients, their families, their companies and the wider society.
This benefit is not just in terms of hedging, financial insurance and owning a proven safe haven asset but also in terms of the peace of mind that gold provides those who hold it in the safest ways possible.
Credit: Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Limited, t/a dmg Media Ireland
Our mission statement since 2003 has been ‘To protect and grow our client’s wealth with the provision of physical gold in the safest ways possible.’ With 16,000 clients in 140 countries, many of whom store gold with us in some of the safest vaults in the world, I am happy that we have achieved that.
Simply put, physical gold is about financial freedom and financial security in an uncertain world.
In the volatile world of today, gold has never been more important. Investors and pension owners who re-balance portfolios in the coming days and weeks will be handsomely rewarded in 2019 and in the coming years. They will sleep better at night too and not be worried about the latest Brexit shenanigans or Trump tweet!
Mark O’Byrne is Ireland’s Mr Gold. The founder of GoldCore has just launched a gold storage facility in Dublin, where he says we should all stock up on gold bars to help survive a looming economic meltdown.
Not everyone is listening but he’s not surprised – they didn’t the last time either.
Why buy gold?
The wise old Wall Street adage was that one should have 10% of one’s wealth in physical gold and hope that it does not work.
The implication is that if gold rises sharply in price, it usually means that stocks, bonds, property, and indeed one’s business may be losing value.
This was seen in the last crisis and has been seen throughout history.
Are we really heading for economic meltdown?
We may be. More likely is another financial crisis akin to the one seen on 2007 to 2012, and that was pretty brutal. We believe geopolitical risks, including the risks of cyber terrorism, terrorism and war, are underestimated by investors.
Do you ever feel like the apocryphal guy with the placard saying ‘The end is nigh’ who gets taken for granted?
A small bit. It can be a lonely place and it does not make you popular, especially in some of the media who have a strong ‘economic recovery’ narrative. I was early calling the global financial crisis as we were warning subscribers and clients in 2005 about the coming banking and property crisis.
However, we are not Armageddonists and do not believe the end of the world is nigh. Otherwise, we would be selling canned beans and nuclear bunkers!
How has gold been doing lately? It is down about 1.6% in euro terms this year but has actually done reasonably well since 2014, despite the surge in stock and bond markets.
Editors Note:We are bearish on gold in the short term but bullish on it’s prospects in Q1, 2019. The set up for gold is getting better and better, particularly due to the uncertain economic outlook and gold looks set for a strong 2019.
You advocate buying real gold. But how much does it cost to store?
Our average lump sum investment is €30,000 and that would cost 1% per annum to store in ultra-secure, institutional-grade vaults.
Can investors visit their gold – maybe stroke it, while cackling fiendishly about the looming economic Armageddon that will make them a fortune?
Ha! They cannot do this in the Dublin vaults due to security requirements but they can in our Zurich vaults, which remain our most popular storage location.
Gold is a diversification – a hedge and financial insurance. Actually, they hope the price does not [shoot upwards] as if it does it generally means the rest of their investments – their pensions, savings, bank deposits etc – will likely have fallen in value.
What about yourself? Are you a spender or a saver?
I’m a saver but I allow myself to spend on good food, holidays and family.
Are you into bling?
Not a big fan of jewellery at all: most of it is a rip-off as the mark-ups are massive (200% to 400%) and there is VAT on jewellery. This is in marked contrast to gold bars, which can be bought for 3%+ (premium) and no VAT in the UK and EU due to the EU Gold Directive.
Are you wearing any gold jewellery at all?
My wedding ring is a silver ring that I really liked and picked out and my wife bought me it in a gift store in Dingle. It cost €40 but has some interesting insignia symbolising the history of Ireland.
Best/worst investments?
Best investment is in ongoing education and personal development including a recent course with Dr Joe Dispenza.
Health is wealth!
Favourite film?
(Apart from Goldfinger!) True Romance! Love the song in that movie too.
How did it go for you in the financial crash?
As we expected, it went well. Irish people began investing in gold for the first time and we were very busy with that and with UK and international clients.
How do you buy stuff? Cash? Credit card? Gold sovereigns?
I am DIVERSIFIED. Cash, credit cards and a ‘real gold’ card, which I can use to buy things with actual gold stored in a vault in Zurich. With gold at €1,070 per oz, three pints costs 0.0015 of an ounce of gold.
Three things you’d do as finance minister?
1. Repatriate whatever Irish national gold reserves we still have and mandate that 10% of the national pension fund be allocated to gold and that it be stored in institutional grade vaults in Ireland.
2. Introduce a flat income tax of about 25% and increase taxes on consumption (especially on luxuries like jewellery, shoes, handbags, sports cars etc).
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