Gold comfort for a double-your-money buy
Pennies from Heaven: Model Georgia Salpa prefers a shower of gold coins to build wealth. Photo: MAXWELLS
ANYONE who invested €10,000 in buying gold in the past five years would have doubled their money, the country's leading gold bullion dealer said yesterday.
On the other hand, investing the €10,000 in the Irish stock market would have left an investor with just over half their original outlay, according to GoldCore.
Irish-owned gold dealer Gold Investments has rebranded as GoldCore. The company had turnover of €42.3m last year, a 168pc increase from 2007 and is targeting another 60pc rise this year. GoldCore's Stephen Flood said yesterday that while investors had been diversifying into gold in recent years, investment in the commodity remains the preserve of a minority of people.
Mr Flood produced research showing that gold bought in August 2007, when first signs of the global financial crisis began to appear, has since risen in value by 41.5pc, while the ISEQ has fallen by 66pc in the same period.
GoldCore claims many investors were not diversified enough in recent years.
Mr Flood said that €10,000 invested in gold five years ago would now be worth €21,190, compared with €5,561 for the same investment in the Irish Stock Exchange.
With international markets remaining turbulent and economic confidence low, demand for gold is continuing to increase, he added.
GoldCore said it and other analysts predicted that gold would again reach its inflation- adjusted record high of $2,400/oz (€1,743/oz) over the next four to seven years from $930/oz at present.
Yesterday, gold and silver futures fell as the US dollar rose against most of its major rivals, reducing the precious metals' investment appeal.
- Charlie Weston
