Close-up on handful of gold and silver bullion coins.
When people invest in precious metals, they typically buy gold or silver. This is perfectly reasonable, but it can result in missed investment opportunities. Because of recent events, though, an increasing number of people have asked whether they should invest in gold or palladium.
Palladium is a silvery-white metal that wasn’t discovered until 1803. This means its history as an investment is negligible compared to its yellow metal counterpart. If you’re considering investing in palladium, though, you shouldn’t let this dissuade you from doing so.
The fact is that — whether you invest in gold or palladium — there’s significant profit potential. Before you pull the metaphorical trigger on buying either, though, it’s important that you understand both. Only then can you make the investment decision that’s right for you.
A direct comparison of two precious metals is difficult without understanding the benefits of each. Fortunately, there are innumerable advantages to investing in gold. Once you recognize each of these, you might just decide that the yellow metal is best for you.
Before rushing to buy gold bullion bars after reading this section, though, take a few extra minutes to review the benefits of palladium. They might surprise you!
We’ve seen what palladium can do over the past 200 years. When we look at gold, though, we’ve got thousands of years to consider. This precious metal has held its own for longer than any of us have been around. It’s got a proven track record, and the general trend has always pointed up.
Two countries control nearly 90% of palladium production. Issues in either of these countries can restrict supply. If this goes on for long, the demand for palladium could decrease as industry finds other metals to use. This simply isn’t a concern with gold. Most countries have massive reserves.
Gold has a higher liquidity than palladium, and this means you can convert it to cash easier. It’s important to note, though, that this isn’t a major issue for palladium. While the yellow metal’s liquidity may be higher, this doesn’t mean you can’t still easily sell “atomic number 46” when you want.
Since nearly every pawn broker, jewelry shop or precious metals dealer will buy gold, though, its liquidity is very high. Even if some of these places won’t consider buying your palladium, you’ll no doubt easily be able to find someone who will.
It’s difficult to overlook the many benefits of investing in gold. This is particularly the case since humans have recognized these advantages for millennia. After watching the recent rise in palladium price, though, no one can claim that the metal hasn’t surpassed all expectations.
If you don’t consider investing in palladium bullion bars or coins after reading this section, you must know something the rest of us don’t!
Palladium performed so well in recent years thanks to its industrial uses. In fact, around 85% of the mined metal goes directly to the automotive industry. This means demand is likely to remain high now and into the future.
The best part of palladium’s industrial use, though, is that it can perform well in any economy. While gold and palladium may both perform well during poor economies, the latter can also gain value during economic booms. That’s because industrial production increases during these times.
In February 2016, an ounce of gold cost around $1,200. By May 2021, this price had increased to $1,852. That’s certainly a great return on investment, but what happened during that time with palladium? The price-per-ounce of the metal skyrocketed from $506 to over $2,877.
There’s no guarantee that this growth will continue, but it’s hard to envision a scenario where it doesn’t. While platinum could replace palladium in the automotive industry, such a change could take years to implement fully. And with continued shortages, palladium’s value is likely here to stay.
We discussed earlier how gold is more accessible than palladium. With only two countries controlling most of the latter’s production, this is no major surprise. And while there are some disadvantages to this, such a situation could create fast and massive gains with palladium.
While both gold and palladium can store value, the potential for restricted access to the latter could result in skyrocketing prices. Production issues, power outages and even international tensions could cause this to occur.
Prices will typically even out once such an issue is rectified. If you sell at the precise right moment, though, the potential for massive returns on investment certainly exists.
Even after learning everything there is to know about palladium and gold, it’s possible to still not know how to invest. After all, no one can predict how either metal will perform relative to the other. Anyone who had this ability would essentially have a license to print money.
If you’re having difficulties making an investment decision, though, take a moment to relax and realize that there are no right or wrong answers. This is particularly the case when looking at investing in gold versus palladium.
The truth is that both precious metals have many of the same benefits. Once you understand these similar advantages, it will become apparent that both are solid investment decisions.
These precious metals certainly have very different uses. One thing they have in common, though, is the impressive ability to store value. This is true of any precious metal — even if you’re buying platinum bullion or silver coins.
And while people have historically viewed gold as the best store of value, we haven’t really seen the palladium’s full potential. America became a country decades before anyone even realized that palladium existed. For all we know, the silvery white metal might store value even better than gold.
We already know it’s impossible to predict which precious metal will hold more value in the future. What we do know, however, is that the value will be universal. The U.S. Dollar could lose value to other currencies, but this simply isn’t the case for gold or palladium.
These precious metals hold universal value. That means no matter where you go in the world, they will maintain the same worth. If you’ve ever traveled to different countries, you know how harsh conversion rates can be. This isn’t something to worry about with palladium and gold.
Many people have considered investing in silver and even copper as an affordable way to buy precious metals. Even if we ignore the fact that copper isn’t technically a “precious metal,” it’s impossible to overlook the disadvantages of owning these more affordable items.
There’s no argument that you can buy 1-ounce silver coins for less than similarly weighted gold or palladium coins. What you run into at that point, however, is storage issues. You could place a single gold or palladium bullion bar into a small safe and easily have $2,000 in value (circa 2021).
How much silver would you need to achieve the same value? Around 80 1-ounce bars. It wouldn’t be as easy to store that, would it? Of course, Precious Metals Storage Facilities can help in this endeavor. Still, storage space is an important consideration.
If you’re considering investing in precious metals, gold and palladium are both great options. While their values can fluctuate — particularly relative to each other — both have shown tremendous potential. And as an investment vehicle, each has returned massive profits in recent years.
When it comes down to choosing gold or palladium, though, the decision rests on your specific investment goals. It’s important to consider both long- and short-term performance with these metals. And if you don’t have a plan for what to do with them, you could miss out on profits.
Of course, there’s also no harm in investing in both metals. After all, diversification is key. Regardless of your eventual decision, visit our Precious Metals Products Page today. You’ll quickly learn just how quick and easy it is to invest in your financial future.
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