Will platinum and palladium rise?

Platinum and palladium have lagged gold and silver recently, but the outlook is improving. Should you invest?

Platinum bars 1000 grams pure platinum
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Silver has surged almost 50% in US dollar terms over the past 12 months. Gold’s performance hasn’t been quite as stellar, though a near-40% dollar return over that time frame is still pretty good. Yet fellow precious metals platinum and palladium are clear laggards. Platinum has managed a mere 11% dollar gain during the last year, while palladium, despite its recent bounce, has eked out a measly 7% increase. Within the last 20 years, though, both metals have made enormous gains. So what does the future hold for these two PGMs (platinum group metals)?

Platinum's prospects

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Contributor

David J. Stevenson has a long history of investment analysis, becoming a UK fund manager for Oppenheimer UK back in 1983.

Switching his focus across the English Channel in 1986, he managed European funds over many years for Hill Samuel, Cigna UK and Lloyds Bank subsidiary IAI International.

Sandwiched within those roles was a three-year spell as Head of Research at stockbroker BNP Securities.

David became Associate Editor of MoneyWeek in 2008. In 2012, he took over the reins at The Fleet Street Letter, the UK’s longest-running investment bulletin. And in 2015 he became Investment Director of the Strategic Intelligence UK newsletter.

Eschewing retirement prospects, he once again contributes regularly to MoneyWeek.

Having lived through several stock market booms and busts, David is always alert for financial markets’ capacity to spring ‘surprises’.

Investment style-wise, he prefers value stocks to growth companies and is a confirmed contrarian thinker.