Todd Southwick is Chief Executive Officer for investment platform iTrustCapital. He has accumulated over 20 years of experience with startups. In his career, he has occupied key executive positions at several tech companies.
Since Todd joined iTrustCapital in 2018, he has been instrumental in the growth of the platform and has assisted thousands of clients seeking to diversify their portfolio from the traditional financial system and take more control of their retirement assets. Todd joins LeapRate to discuss investing in gold.
LR: Thank you for joining LeapRate, Todd. Tell us, should investors consider contributing or even creating a tax-advantaged savings account such as an IRA?
Todd Southwick
Todd: Savvy investors should do everything possible to max out their contributions to tax-advantaged accounts. IRAs allow you to defer or eliminate tax liability, which allows the investment to compound year over year. Outside of these accounts, all realized gains on most investments will be subject to capital gains taxes each year.
LR: Can investors in the US use those savings to invest in gold within their IRA accounts?
Todd: Yes, absolutely. Some investors choose gold ETFs, but many others want to hold physical gold in their IRAs. For physical gold investors, they want the added security of knowing the gold exists and tied to an account in their name. For physical gold, the IRS has specifications for the types of gold that are allowed. Bullion and other coins or bars with stated high purity are permitted, but collectible gold coins are not.
LR: How does the purchase of physical gold within an overall portfolio allocation generally create a “diversification benefit”?
Todd: A gold ETF investor buys it as a hedge against inflation and to diversify from stocks and bonds.
A physical gold investor buys gold not just as a hedge against inflation, but also to hedge against the highly leveraged Wall Street, Banking, and Federal Reserve system. These investors worry that continued debasement of the dollar with limitless money printing and low-interest rates to support the stock market creates an unprecedented strain on the traditional financial system. Physical gold is an insurance policy.
LR: Is there a correlation between changes in the value of gold and returns from stocks and bonds?
Todd: Fear plays an important role. In recent months, New York received shipments of gold equivalent to nine full loads of Boeing 737 cargo jets during the peak of COVID19 hysteria. As stock prices rise, the big money looks at making the quick returns the stock market offers. They move away from gold, and that affects short term prices.
LR: What is your advice to investors?
Todd: All markets have cycles, and many experts believe we are at the end of one and the beginning of another. The transition between cycles is never smooth. Markets crash, Federal banks print, politicians point fingers and the masses revolt. During these times, fortunes are made, but the average investor usually gets crushed. Then when it’s all done, rinse, and repeat. Over time people forget about the devastation of previous cycles. The younger generation moves into their prime earning years who did not directly experience the last bubble burst, and we do all over again!
Money managers always preach diversification, and this is almost certainly the answer today. Our clientele who invest in physical gold and cryptocurrencies want the extra protection physical gold provides in these unprecedented times. I, for one, sleep a little better with a bit of insurance.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
