Hard Money

An in-depth guide to making gold a serious part of your portfolio
 
Gold, the long forgotten store of value that was once the center of the global financial system, suddenly matters a great deal again. It has become a leading asset by virtue of its strong performance, and its booming demand has made it the only financial asset that remains in an uninterrupted bull market. And yet gold remains one of the least-owned financial assets in investment portfolios today.
 
Hard Money helps investors move beyond the simple, yet widely accepted notion that gold makes sense in today's financial environment, and explores ways to magnify potential investment returns driven by precious metals. This reliable resource examines the investment vehicles (bullion, stocks, derivatives, and even rare coins) and strategies (aggressive, conservative, passive, and variations) aimed at beating the price of gold as it rises, and ways to protect a portfolio should the metal decline.
* Identifies five key drivers that should continue to push gold higher in the years ahead
* Explores the ins and outs of investing in gold and making this precious metal a part of your portfolio
* Examines the pros and cons of multiple ways to buy gold via coins, ETFs, mining and royalty stocks, and other investment vehicles
* Author Shayne McGuire is a highly-regarded expert on gold
 
Written in a straightforward and accessible style, Hard Money offers key strategies to enhancing returns with new methods for investing in gold.

Praise for Hard Money "Shayne McGuire has broken the mold twice: initially by creating the first gold fund within the U.S. pension system, and now for writing this indispensable volume on why gold belongs in everyone's portfolio. When the financial history of this era is written, Mr. McGuire will figure prominently for his clarity and vision." Thomas Kaplan, Chairman, Tigris Financial Group "When Shayne wrote Buy Gold Now, we all needed to listen: gold has since been the smart investor's way to increase wealth through the past few years. Now, in Hard Money, he explains why gold should be a significant part of every prudent investor's portfolio. You do not have to think the end is nigh to believe that gold is sensible insurance as the world navigates unprecedented economic and financial risks." Gerard Minack, Chief Global Strategist, Morgan Stanley "Hard Money is an accomplished and dispassionate analysis of gold and its role in a diversified investment portfolio, presented in clear terms by an experienced investor. McGuire explains why the era of borrow and spend is likely over, what this means for investors, and how to construct a gold portfolio." Caesar Bryan, Portfolio Manager, Gabelli Gold Fund "Hard Money is a very good practical guide about gold investments." Marc Faber, Managing Director, Marc Faber Ltd. and author of Tomorrow's Gold "With Hard Money, Shayne McGuire has produced another enjoyable and insightful book about the causes behind gold's recent sharp rally and why the price could even go 'hyperbolic.' It is an excellent guide for the investor and particularly appropriate as it even contains advice on how to incorporate precious metals into a balanced portfolio." Jon Spall, Director of Commodities Division, Barclays Capital "Mr. McGuire has written an important book that will be of value to any investor considering gold, other precious metals, and mining shares. Not only is it full of insight and useful information, it provides a commonsense rationale as to why precious metal prices are headed higher. Far from being another gloom-and-doom end-of-the-world rant, the book provides sensible and practical advice for beginners as well as investment professionals." John Hathaway, Portfolio Manager, Tocqueville Gold Fund

Acknowledgments.
 
Introduction: The World Doesn't Have to End for Gold to Go Hyperbolic.
 
The Logic of Gold in the New Investment World: Follow the Money.
 
Taking Gold to a Higher Level: Setting Up Your Own Gold Portfolio.
 
Part One: The Logic of Hard Money in the New Investment World.
 
Chapter 1 Gold Driver 1: The Increasing Likelihood of Fiscal Crises in Major Economies of the World.
 
Chapter 2 Gold Driver 2: The Return of Inflation as a Major Investment Risk.
 
The Risk of Hyperinflation.
 
Chapter 3 Gold Driver 3: The Return of Gold as a Significant Asset in the World's Largest Investment Funds.
 
Chapter 4 Gold Driver 4: The Rise of China.
 
Chapter 5 Driver 5: Gold's Potential Return to being the Dominant Financial Asset in the Global Monetary System (A Return to Normal).
 
Chapter 6 Gold: How a $10K Ounce is Possible (Taking a Closer Look at Supply and Demand).
 
Supply: Even When Gold Skyrockets, Supply Barely Moves.
 
Demand: The Gold Market Is So Small That Little Is Needed to Make It Surge.
 
$10K Gold.
 
Is the Price of Gold being Manipulated?
 
Chapter 7 Silver: Poor Man's Gold May Offer the Richest Returns.
 
Chapter 8 Platinum and Palladium.
 
Chapter 9 Taking Gold to a Higher Level: Creating Your Gold Portfolio.
 
Constructing your Gold Portfolio.
 
Decision Outside the Gold Portfolio: What Percentage of your Total Wealth do you want to Hold in Gold?
 
Gold Portfolio Decision One: Degree of Diversification Among Metals.
 
Decision Two: What Part of your Gold Portfolio do you want to hold in ETFs and What Part in Precious Metals Stocks?
 
Decision Three: What Part of your Gold Portfolio do you want to be in Physical Gold and What Part in "Paper" Gold?
 
Decision Four: Do you Want to Roll up your Sleeves and Pick Stocks, or Do you Want to have Passive Exposure to Gold Stocks?
 
Managing your Gold Portfolio.
 
Portfolio Rebalancing.
 
Protecting your Portfolio if you Believe the Price of Gold will Decline.
 
A Few Final Thoughts Regarding the Gold Portfolio.
 
Chapter 10 Keeping It Simple with Precious Metals ETFs.
 
A Different Animal: Return Magnification Vehicles.
 
Chapter 11 Mining Stocks.
 
Valuation.
 
Royalty Companies: A Different Play on Precious Metals.
 
Part Three: Hard Money (Investing the Old-Fashioned Way).
 
Chapter 12 The Importance of Wealth You Can Hold in your Hands.
 
Would the U.S. Government Ever Confiscate Gold Again (as it did in 1933)?
 
Chapter 13 How to Invest in Coins and Bars (Without Getting Ripped Off).
 
Chapter 14 The Most Widely Respected Investment Coins.
 
Gold American Eagle.
 
Gold American Buffalo.
 
Canadian Maple Leaf.
 
South African Gold Krugerrand.
 
British Gold Sovereign.
 
Chinese Gold Panda.
 
Australian Gold Kangaroo.
 
Austrian Gold Philharmonic.
 
Swiss PAMP Gold Bars.
 
Silver American Eagle.
 
Silver Kookaburra.
 
Platinum American Eagle.
 
Chapter 15 Rare Coins: A Bet on the Highest Possible Gains in Gold.
 
Conclusion: What Will Cause Gold's Bull Market to End?
 
About the Author.
 
Index.