Being a gold broker is not only a highly consuming occupation, but also a highly risky one. Buying and selling gold is easy, but making a profit from it is an exceptionally difficult task. Advertisements religiously promote gold as the best investment to make and no doubt that this is true (people often use gold to hedge against inflation and looming recessions) it is not advisable for anyone to invest in the precious metal before the do some digging of their own about the industry. Gold is actually available in a myriad of forms that range from gold stocks, gold funds and right up to physical gold. Stocks and funds are considered financial instruments that investor buy and sell to derive profits and the upside is these stocks or funds do not need to be locked up in a 50 meter thick vault – all you need is a licensed commodity broker! On the other hand the feeling of having physical gold in your possession is unprecedented, but the responsibility of protecting physical gold can be a daunting task. Another factor that needs to be considered is the place that these licensed brokers come from, for instance the Brisbane gold brokers may have a different approach to investment in comparison to brokers from Melbourne due to the nature of the domestic markets. Brisbane gold brokers may tend to lean towards physical gold whereas the gold brokers from Melbourne would generally be leaning towards gold funds.
Whatever the options are, the most important thing to remember when dealing with gold or gold related instruments is the timing of buying and selling, knowing when to buy and knowing when to sell is a critical success factor towards making a decent profit. However since we do not have a crystal ball to tell us when the time is right to buy or sell, it is crucial that political and economic implementations be observed closely and diligently to avoid the pitfalls of the industry. When interest rate rise, the prices of bonds usually drop and when this happens most investors would prefer to buy bonds by dumping gold which would force the prices down, but as bond buying reaches a climax and interest rates start sliding, investors sell bonds and start buying gold again. Getting caught up in these fluctuations without proper guidance and backup simply spells disaster. Having said this, before you start your ‘golden venture’ learn the basics and know the determinants that send prices up or down for that matter and chances are you will make some money.
Many people seem to view gold brokers as ‘mean’ people for some reason; maybe it is because they are constantly being bombarded by dodgy characters that are always out to get them, but from what I have come to observe, it is nothing more than an occupational trait or if you would prefer – an occupational hazard. Our daily routines tend to mould us or influence us in some way and that is more often than not an inevitable situation – we all eventually become the products of our environment. Gold brokers are still people and as such they are not what most people think that they are – like it or not they are humans just like you and I. A gold broker once told me, “walk a mile in my shoe and you will know why I am the way I am”, but based on what I have observed – I don’t think I would be able to pull it off!
