THE PERFECT

GOLD PORTFOLIO
AGOR A
financial

JIM RICKARDS’

str ategic intelligence Making the Complex Simple

The Perfect Gold Portfolio: Everything

You Need to Know About Buying the
Right Kind of Physical Gold
Is gold a commodity, an investment or money? COMEX gold peaked at $1,876 per ounce on Sept. 2, 2011,
but traded as low as $1,056 per ounce on Nov. 27, 2015.
The answer is… That’s a 44% decline in just over four years. Yet in the same
Gold is a chameleon. It changes in response to the time period, broad-based commodities indexes fell even
environment. more. One major commodities index fell 53%.

At times, gold behaves like a commodity. The gold price The contrast between the behavior of gold and commodities
tracks the ups and downs of commodity indexes. At other is even more extreme when we narrow the time period.
times, gold is viewed as a safe haven investment. It com- From June 20, 2014, to Jan. 15, 2016, the broad-based
petes with stocks and bonds for investor attention. commodity index fell 63%, while gold fell only 17%. That
collapse in commodity prices was almost four times greater
And on occasion, gold assumes its role as the most stable than the decline in gold prices.
long-term form of money the world has ever known.
The difference in their price recovery has been just as
A real chameleon changes color based on the background on pronounced. Gold is now up 16% or so from its 2015 low.
which it rests. When sitting on a dark green leaf, the cha- Overall commodity prices have risen less than 4% in the
meleon appears dark green to hide from predators. When same time. So gold’s recovery has been four times stronger
the chameleon hops from the leaf to a tree trunk, it will than other commodities.
change from green to brown to maintain its defenses.
Right now, as investors around the world are losing
Gold also changes its nature depending on the background. confidence in a long list of emerging-market currencies,
investor preferences are shifting toward dollars and gold.
Right now, gold is behaving more like money than a com- This accounts for gold’s outperformance of the rest of the
modity or an investment. It is competing with central bank commodity complex when measured in dollars.
fiat money for asset allocations by global investors. That’s a
big deal because it shows that citizens around the world are And when the price of gold is measured not in dollars but
starting to lose confidence in other forms of money such as in rubles, yuan or rials, the percentage price increase in
dollars, yuan, yen, euros and sterling. gold is even more impressive, because those currencies
have all declined lately against the dollar.
What indications do we see that gold is now behaving
like money? When you understand that gold is money and competes
with other forms of money in a jumble of cross-rates with
For one thing, gold’s price action has diverged from the no anchor, you’ll understand why the whole monetary
price action of other commodities. This divergence first system is going wobbly.
appeared in late 2014 but has become more pronounced
in recent months. It’s important to take off your dollar blinders to see that the
dollar is just one form of money. It’s not necessarily the best
Gold observers know that gold measured in dollars for all investors in all circumstances, but gold is a strong
is down significantly from its all-time high in 2011. competitor in the horse race among various forms of money.
w w w. ag or a fi n a nci a l .com
 the perfect gold portfolio

This is great news for those with price exposure to gold. I call silver “the once and future money,” because silver’s
The price of gold in many currencies is going up as confi- role as money in the future is simply a return to silver’s
dence in those other currencies goes down. As a currency historical role as money.
gets weaker, it takes more of it to buy the same amount of
gold. Confidence in currencies is dropping because investors I believe that you should own both gold and silver. And
are losing confidence in the central banks that print them. the best way to invest in physical gold and silver is through
For the first time since 2008, it looks like central banks are coins and bullion bars.
losing control of the global financial system.
That’s why I’ve shown the folks at Hard Asset Alliance —
Lost confidence in fiat money starts slowly and then builds one of the best online gold buying platforms we know —
rapidly to a crescendo. The end result is panic buying of how to put together the perfectly allocated model gold and
gold and a price super spike. Why? Because gold doesn’t silver portfolio. You can use this portfolio today to protect
have a central bank and doesn’t have the associated risks. your wealth.
In addition, gold always inspires confidence, because it is
scarce, tested by time and has no credit risk. That’s why The model portfolio has many benefits that you simply
investors flock to gold during times of uncertainty. won’t find anywhere else:

We saw this behavior in the late 1970s. Gold moved from First, it’s allocated with my up-to-date ideal gold to
$35 per ounce in August 1971 to $800 per ounce in Janu- silver ratio.
ary 1980. That’s a 2,200% gain in less than nine years. Next, it’s perfectly proportioned with the right type of
Right now, we see global uncertainty coming from every gold to buy (coins vs. bars) to make sure you’re paying
angle. This means we may be looking at the early stages of the lowest possible premiums.
a super spike that could take gold to $10,000 per ounce or
It is also carefully constructed to provide with you both long-
higher. When that happens, there will be one important
term storage and short-term delivery to use in times of crisis.
difference between the new super spike and what happened
in 1980: You won’t be able to buy gold this time. It’s a fully “done for you” model portfolio. This will show
Back then, you could buy gold at $100, $200 or $500 per you how to get started with as little as $10,000 in invest-
ounce and enjoy the ride. In the new super spike, you able assets. And it perfectly scales up to show you exactly
may not be able to get any gold at all. You’ll be watching what to buy with $10 million in assets.
the price go up on TV but unable to buy any for yourself. Best of all, it gives you the world’s easiest way to either get
Gold will be in such short supply that only the central started with your physical gold holdings, or add to your stash.
banks, giant hedge funds and billionaires will be able to The people at Hard Asset Alliance have made it as simple
get their hands on any. The mint and your local dealer as 1…2…3… to get started.
will be sold out. That physical scarcity will make the
price super spike even more extreme than in 1980. Simply follow this link to visit the page we’ve created on
Hard Asset Alliance’s website.
The time to buy gold is now, before the price spikes and
supplies dry up. I recommend a 10% allocation of investi- After a brief introduction from me, you’ll be asked to log
ble assets to physical gold and other precious metals for in to your Hard Asset Alliance account. If you don’t have
your permanent portfolio. one, you’ll have the option to create one. Don’t worry
Another metal I think you should own is silver. Silver has — there are no account opening fees and no obligation.
many industrial applications. It’s also a true commodity (Though you will have to have funds in your account if
and a form of money, like gold. you wish to buy the coins and bars I recommend from
Hard Asset Alliance.)
The price of silver may rise or fall based on industrial utiliza-
tion and the business cycle, independent of monetary factors Once you’re in your account, you’ll be taken to a new
such as inflation, deflation and interest rates. Nevertheless, page. Choose how much money you wish to allocate to
silver is a form of money (along with gold and dollars) and your perfect gold portfolio, and the site will automatically
always has been. show you what metals, coins and bars I recommend. You’ll
also see if I recommend taking delivery of your metals or
My expectation is that as savers and investors lose confi-
letting Hard Assets Alliance store it for you.
dence in central bank money, they will increasingly turn
to physical money (gold and silver). Click “Buy Now” — and you’re done!
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 the perfect gold portfolio

You can go directly to the link for all of the details, or read American Gold Buffalo: A gold bullion coin from the U.S.
on for a preview. This will show you the specificity to expect Mint. It contains one ounce of pure gold, 99.99% purity,
from the portfolio I’ve created with Hard Asset Alliance. and weighs one ounce. These coins are 24-karat gold.
The breakdown for precious metal allocations, based on the Gold bullion: The best way to hold gold bullion other
amount of investable assets you have as an individual, is below. than bullion coins is a one-kilo gold bar of 99.99% purity
from a reputable refiner or mint such as PAMP, the Perth Mint
Please note that Agora Financial has a marketing rela-
or Argor-Heraeus. Each one-kilo bar weighs 32.15 ounces.
tionship with Hard Asset Alliance. Agora Financial will
receive compensation if you open an account with HAA. American Silver Eagle: A silver bullion coin from the
But we would not talk about their products if we didn’t U.S. Mint. It contains one ounce of fine silver, 99.99%
believe in them. purity, and weighs one ounce.
Read on for how to calculate and allocate your investible If you’re not starting with a large amount of investable
assets… assets, I recommend buying Silver Eagles separately. But
if you have a larger amount to start with, I suggest you
Jim Rickards’ Recommended Precious buy the Silver Eagles as part of a “Monster Box.”
Metals Portfolio
A Monster Box is a sealed case, delivered directly from the
The following recommendations are subject to these
U.S. Mint, containing 500 one-ounce American Silver Eagle
overall conditions:
coins of 99.99% purity. The coins are packed in plastic
1. Y
 ou should put approximately 10% of investi- sleeves of 20 coins each, and each sleeve is individually
ble assets in precious metals. The reason I’ve sealed. There are 25 sleeves in each Monster Box. If you
chosen 10% is that this allocation is sufficient acquire a Monster Box, I recommend that you do not break
to preserve wealth in scenarios of hyperinfla- open the exterior Mint seals unless you need to use the
tion and market panic. However, in the event silver as currency.
of extreme deflation and declining asset prices, Keep in mind that since the number of coins in a Monster
a 10% allocation will not cause major nominal Box is fixed — and to avoid odd-lot purchases of Silver
dollar losses. Eagles — the recommended allocations below are not
2. The definition of “investable assets” in the case exactly 10% in all cases.
of an individual excludes home equity and busi- Note: The choice between American Gold Eagles and
ness equity. For example, if your net worth is $1 American Buffalos for gold coins amounts to a personal
million and consists of $300,000 of home equity preference. The amount of gold is the same in both cases.
and $200,000 of business equity, then your My personal preference is for American Gold Eagles be-
investible assets are $500,000. In that case, your cause of their durability. American Buffalos are relatively
allocation to precious metals should be approxi- soft and will accumulate excessive wear if they need to be
mately $50,000. used as a circulating currency. The American Gold Eagle
composition was based on the British Sovereign gold
3. Only you can decide if gold is not the best in-
coin, which was a circulating currency and money good
vestment for you at this time. These allocations
on five continents from the end of the Napoleonic Wars
are based on my research and should not be con-
to the First World War.
sidered personalized investment advice. If you
are unsure about any of these recommendations, Recommended Precious Metals Holdings
you should discuss your individual circumstance
with your financial adviser. All recommendations are based on a gold price of $1,220
per ounce, a silver price of $17.50 per ounce and modest
Descriptions of Recommended Precious commissions. These recommendations must be adjusted for
material price changes in gold or silver bullion. Also, in
Metals Investments the event that gold prices gap upward in a super-spike
American Gold Eagle: A gold bullion coin from the U.S. pattern, that will indicate collapsing confidence in central
Mint. It contains one ounce of pure gold and some addi- bank money, in which case the 10% allocation may need
tional alloy for a total weight of 1.09 ounces. These coins to be adjusted higher. (Stick with Strategic Intelligence for
are 22-karat gold (92% purity). our latest thoughts on these allocations.)
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 the perfect gold portfolio

If you wish to follow these recommendations, simply find • 100 American Gold Eagles
your amount of investable assets in the following list, then • 2 Monster Boxes
buy the listed amounts of bars, coins and Monster Boxes.
Investable Assets of $1.5 million:
The Rickards’ Recommended Precious
• 1 gold bullion bar
Metals Portfolio™
• 75 American Gold Eagles
Investable Assets of $10 million: • 2 Monster Boxes

• 10 gold bullion bars Investable Assets of $1 million:

• 300 American Gold Eagles
• 10 Monster Boxes • 1 gold bullion bar
• 50 American Gold Eagles
Investable Assets of $5 million:
• 1 Monster Box
• 2 gold bullion bars
Investable Assets of $500,000:
• 300 American Gold Eagles
• 5 Monster Boxes • 35 American Gold Eagles
Investable Assets of $4.5 million: • 1 Monster Box

• 1 gold bullion bar Investable Assets of $250,000:

• 300 American Gold Eagles
• 5 Monster Boxes • 20 American Gold Eagles
• 100 American Silver Eagles
Investable Assets of $4 million:
Investable Assets of $100,000:
• 1 gold bullion bar
• 250 American Gold Eagles • 10 American Gold Eagles
• 4 Monster Boxes • 100 American Silver Eagles
Investable Assets of $3.5 million: Investable Assets of $10,000:
• 1 gold bullion bar • 1 American Gold Eagle
• 200 American Gold Eagles
• 3 Monster Boxes This Perfect Gold Portfolio and Hard Asset Alliance
Investable Assets of $3 million: Portal are the starting point to help you understand how
to allocate your wealth and protect it as the monetary
• 1 gold bullion bar system weakens.
• 175 American Gold Eagles
• 3 Monster Boxes To grow your wealth, keep reading our groundbreaking
analysis and recommendations in Jim Rickards’ Strategic
Investable Assets of $2.5 million:
Intelligence.
• 1 gold bullion bar
• 150 American Gold Eagles All the best,
• 2 Monster Boxes

Investable Assets of $2 million:

Jim Rickards
• 1 gold bullion bar Editor, Strategic Intelligence

Copyright by Agora Financial, LLC. 808 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means or for
any reason without the consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy cannot
be guaranteed.