Читать книгу Investing in Gold & Silver For Dummies - Paul Mladjenovic, Paul Mladjenovic, Ted Sudol - Страница 13

Having all your money in a variety of paper assets may be diversified, and many (most?) financial advisors may be confident that you’re properly diversified, but an issue occurs, which is getting more and more pronounced during the 2020s.

Maybe the best way I can illustrate the problem with having “all your eggs in the paper-asset basket” is to use the old reliable example of the Titanic (don’t roll your eyes!). If you were onboard the Titanic and you owned a luxury compartment at midlevel, a warehousing unit on the bottom level, and a gorgeous unit with a stunning view of the ocean on the top deck, then you’d be “in like flint” versus that schlub who occupies the unit with no view and the size of a phone booth on level 15.

But if the ship sinks, the great equalizer is that both of you lose. With a “100 percent paper-assets boat,” it’d be good to have as part of your setup a “life boat” that doesn’t rely on the sinking ship. It has the power to float no matter what happens to the paper-assets ship.

The year 2020 is a major, consequential year that reminds us that our paper-assets ship is surrounded by icebergs, and a life boat is a huge plus. (“But Paul, what if your life boat hits an iceberg?” Because you ruined my great example, switch that to a helicopter so I can move on. Sheesh!)

In the following sections, I explain the counterparty risk with paper investments and how investing in gold and silver can help balance that risk.