Selling Life Jackets to the Titanic…

…Why Wouldn’t You Buy One?

Bullion.Directory precious metals analysis 19 July, 2017
By Peter Schiff
Chairman at SchiffGold

Now, that may sound like a bit of hyperbole. And in most cases, it would be. But during World War II, a tiny bit of gold became the salvation of a dying soldier.

Ross Norman’s Italian uncle had a small bit gold on him as he stumbled through the fields of Russia during the war. As Norman told Business Insider, his uncle was lost and dying of hunger. The starving soldier had no possessions on him except for a gold cross he wore around his neck. He was able to sell the gold for enough food to save his life.

That bit of family history was the catalyst for Norman’s own – as he calls it “strange relationship” – with gold.

“It’s a bit like having an older brother, where you sit down for a drink and think ‘Godammit if he wasn’t my brother, he’d be my friend.’”

Ross Norman now serves as CEO of Sharps Pixley, a gold bullion shop in the plush St. James area of London.

Family history can take ironic twists and turns. Gold saved his uncle. Now Norman helps others buy gold. His work may never literally save a life (although it conceivably could), but it will undoubtedly help save people’s wealth.

We’re selling life jackets to the Titanic, why wouldn’t you buy one?”

Norman believes very strongly that gold will help his clients weather the next financial crisis. So-called “gold bugs” used to be marginalized, but Norman said more and more people are recognizing the value of gold.

There have always been incidents in financial markets, how will the next 16 years look? You now have to work quite hard to find safe harbors … What used to be considered a bunch of scaremongers and conspiracy theorists is now quite a large group. You have to take a view: What chance do I think there will be a significant economic or financial crisis in the next five years? That percentage is your allocation to gold.”

Norman said he takes a very long-term view on gold investing. He doesn’t fret over the price. He’s looking at it as wealth preservation.

Brexit has created a great deal of uncertainty in the United Kingdom. As a result, the British are buying gold. Sales surged in the wake of Brexit and spiked again leading up to recent elections. Gold sales soared 87% as the prospect of a hung Parliament drove “panic-stricken” investors to converted their  sterling into gold.

Economic uncertainty is the rule of the day in the US as well. In a recent interview, Peter Schiff said we are in the eye of the storm, but the relative calm is illusionary.

We’re in the eye of an economic hurricane right now. People think that 2008 was the end of it – that was when we entered the storm. Now we’re in the eye. We’re coming to the rest of the storm shortly. So, for now, it’s just a good time to buy gold while there’s so much complacency.”

We just might need that life jacket.

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