Gold: why I like the mines better than the metal

You’ll have to tread carefully, but brave investors in gold mines will be well rewarded. Simon Popple explains how.

I'm a pretty normal guy. I work hard. I have a young family who I enjoy spending time with. I like good food and watching rugby when I get a spare moment. But when it comes to investing, there are a lot of people who would say I'm a little unhinged. Six years ago, I made the decision to invest 50% of my life savings in gold. And not only gold, but a specific type of gold-mining stock that I've spent years researching.

That's a personal choice. It suits me, but it's not the way that everyone invests, and it certainly wouldn't suit all investors. Hedge-fund manager Hugh Hendry, for example, recently told The Economist that "there is no rationale for owning a gold-mining equity. It's as close as you get to insanity." That is quite a statement especially from someone who is a fan of gold itself, as Hendry is.

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Simon is an expert in investing in gold and commodities which he shares for our MoneyWeek readers. He studied at the University of Surrey where he achieved a business degree and a marketing diploma. After taking his studies further and doing an MBA at Birmingham University, Simon was the first MBA student offered an internship in the U.S. Since then, Simon has been a part of the Senior Banker team at ABN Amro where he became the founding member of their Financial Sponsors team, and then joined Strutt and Parker Financial Services where he was appointed as Head of Investment Management. He also became a director at one of the world’s biggest private property companies, Topland. Simon Popple has written for MoneyWeek and Agora Financial.