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Edmund Moy is no stranger to money. As the 38th director of the US Mint, he earned the Alexander Hamilton Medal for public service awarded by then Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. In addition, as the director of the US Mint, Moy oversaw the more creation of gold coins. So it’s no surprise that after he left in the US Mint, he joined Morgan Gold as their Chief Strategist. Morgan Gold is a company that helps clients convert their traditional and Roth IRAs into Gold IRAs using gold coins and bars specifically approved for use in Gold IRAs.
Moy says he made the move because when he was the director of the US Mint, he noticed that there was very little gold bullion coins being used for gold IRAs. In 1997, President Clinton signed the Taxpayer Relief Act into law, which allowed physical precious metals—including gold, silver, and platinum—to be added to IRAs.
However, as financial planner Dan Moisand wrote in his March 8, 2013 column on Marketwatch.com “It can be a big pain in the neck. You have to pay a trustee to set up the account, take possession of the gold, store and secure it, and send reports.”
Finding a trustee can be difficult and finding an IRS-approved depository to store the gold can be even tougher. Moy said that he was impressed with how Morgan Gold simplified the gold buying process by using Self-Directed IRA Services (the leading provider of gold IRA administrative services) and the Delaware Depository (the largest and most reputable IRS-approved depository). He was also impressed with the reputation of the founders of Morgan Gold.
As the chief strategist, one of Moy’s strategies is making a directed appeal to his community – Asian Americans. “The Asian culture has always placed a heavy emphasis on gold,” Moy said. “China and India are the biggest buyers of physical gold.” He recommends that Asian Americans put about 10% of their IRA into gold to diversify their portfolio. “It’s a hard asset,” Moy said – something that immigrants who have experienced fluctuations in currency and economic uncertainty (think Cultural Revolution, etc.) can appreciate.
Should You Invest in Gold?
The jury is still out on this but here are some pros and cons when it comes to investing in gold.
The value of gold is inversely correlated with the value of the dollar in most circumstances. Thus, if the value of the dollar goes up, then gold will down, and vice versa. Many people invest in gold to hedge against inflation or the collapse of the dollar.
On the other hand, some argue that investing in gold does very little for someone in terms of financial gain. “Gold has proven to be a very poor investment over the long-run. While gold often rises in value during a panic or inflation, neither of these economic ills tend to be long-term in their duration in the developed economies of the world,” noted Professor Jeffery A. Born, Director of the Executive MBA Program D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University.
