Reputable Silver/Commodities Broker?

[Optioholic]

I'm looking to get into mainly silver and possibly commodities.

What is a reputable commodities broker that offers both of these? I seem to be finding mostly commodity brokers offering "futures" rather than commodity brokers offering "spot". I want nothing to to with futures.


I do have an account with ACM Markets, which is a Swiss based forex broker. They are highly capitalized and also involved in banking. Overall a very professional operation. My experience with them is great customer service and reliability. They only offer silver though, with a spread of 4 cents.

ACM does have a single instance where they had to close all their US-client positions due to a US-based regulatory change. This is why I do not wan't to get involved with them in regards to metals/commodities. I don't feel like paying a multi-hundred dollar spread because of the US government changing some regulation again.

I'm sure I can find a spot commodities broker with a tighter spread though, that also offers commodities. I have no clue as to who in the commodities broker world is reputable though.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[etem_tezcan]

minimum price step of silver futures are 0.005, like 40.930-40.935 however there are always 2-3 ticks between best bid and offer. Some spread betting brokers (ODL used to) price silver with 2 numbers after the comma like 40.93. The 4 cent spread you mention should be like this and corresponds to 8 ticks on regular futures. 8 ticks is pretty large spread for futures.

Why do you want to stay away from futures ?
Silver has a mini contract for futures(1000 ounce), 1/5 of normal contract, much more affordable that normal one.

I am not so familiar with spot trading however I have a sense that you need to pay wholly for the silver you bought or you need to borrow money from brokerage and pay interest on that.

 

[Optioholic]

The reason you mentioned is why I would prefer not to get involved with futures (1000 ounces). You need much more capital overall. I've also never ventured into the world of "futures".

If 4 cents in on par though, maybe I will stick to ACM for silver. I'de prefer to be offered both silver and commodities so I can make a investment in specific commodities if I feel it's right.

I am not looking to make a single $40,000 investment into silver (mini contract/1000 ounces). I'm looking more around $5,000 - $10,000.

I'm pretty certain you don't have to pay any interest to ACM for spot silver positions.

 

[etem_tezcan]

That word "spot" should not mislead you. Does that ACM give you physical silver if you pay it in full. If no, your "spot" silver is just a number in their system, you dont have better protection than a "future" position.
I understand that you are not looking to speculate on silver rather make a long term investment.
there are silver ETFs around such as SLV.
other can be found from page
http://etf.stock-encyclopedia.com/category/silver-etfs.html
There are also many other ETFs tracking commodity prices
SLV is a traded on NYSE and its price more or less tracks silver price.
I believe ETFs are safer than a forex broker (remember refco).
If you also own ETFs you can sell options against them and collect some cash.
If you want ultimate safety and be safe against collapse of financial system, you should go for physical silver in the form of bars, coins.
Also please note that silver raised %187 in last two years time.

 

[anley]

As the other poster says the fx bucket shop you're using is just making its own market in silver.

You're better off trading the gold and silver ETFs although they're far from perfect.

 

[Optioholic]

That word "spot" should not mislead you. Does that ACM give you physical silver if you pay it in full. If no, your "spot" silver is just a number in their system, you dont have better protection than a "future" position.
I understand that you are not looking to speculate on silver rather make a long term investment.
there are silver ETFs around such as SLV.
other can be found from page
http://etf.stock-encyclopedia.com/category/silver-etfs.html
There are also many other ETFs tracking commodity prices
SLV is a traded on NYSE and its price more or less tracks silver price.
I believe ETFs are safer than a forex broker (remember refco).
If you also own ETFs you can sell options against them and collect some cash.
If you want ultimate safety and be safe against collapse of financial system, you should go for physical silver in the form of bars, coins.
Also please note that silver raised %187 in last two years time.

No, ACM doesn't give you physical silver. I am aware of this and would like physical silver on hand. I cannot seem to find physical silver for sale online that is not dramatically above spot. I can find spot silver on auction websites, but then when you get the transaction fees involved, it's the same thing as buying it above spot.

Maybe I will pursuit SLV, as I already have an options/stock account. This seems to be the best route.

I am suspect of a heavy to severe financial crisis, so with that in mind any money I have in a silver ETF may just be money thrown down the drain, which compromises the entire point of the investment to begin with. Even if a financial crisis does not occur in the next few years, which will only be granted by the will of God himself, I'm very certain that silver will atleast double from it's current price. When? I don't know, but I know it will. So I am infact looking for a long term investment.


Do you know where I can purchase physical silver online for spot prices?

 

[LiveTradingZone]

Tradestation securities...I know I talk about them a lot, but they are the best. I trade Silver every single day and do very well in that market. Regulated exchanges are the only way to go though. There is never a spread either when trading Silver futures off the COMEX exchange.

 

[Optioholic]

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will probably take up a position in SLV or get my hands on some physical silver... maybe a mix of both.

 

[LiveTradingZone]

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will probably take up a position in SLV or get my hands on some physical silver... maybe a mix of both.

If you are trying to make money both of those are very bad ideas. For one, the ETF's will all lose you money due to contract rollovers and contango. Physical silver you will ultimately get screwed by the sellers/buyers with a large premium.

The only way you will make money longer term is to sell/buy the actual futures contract with a well known company and regulated exchange. Why would you buy silver for retail markup when you can buy it for the actual price on the exchange? Even a mini contract of silver would be worth it.

 

[anley]

Do you know where I can purchase physical silver online for spot prices?

Impossible, think about it - you're asking too much. Nobody is ever going to sell you anything for spot price as they'll be losing money. In effect you're asking them to swallow all their costs.

The only way to buy spot is privately from somebody who wants to sell, then both parties get a good deal.

Plus, have you considered the odds of you making good money buying Silver where it is at the moment? Or to put it another way, you're about 3 months late.

The best time to buy Silver is when they whack it, and whack it hard. That's coming, it always does, but then most will be scared to buy it because they'll think it's topped when in fact the selloff will probably be just a normal vicious selloff which is a character of that market.

Also, the problem with something like SLV is do they actually have the silver in the vaults? If not then are you actually buying silver or just another piece of paper which then has the potential to implode because it's backed by just promises, and promises from investment bankers I might add.

Summary: THE time to buy Gold/Silver is on dips, buying strength has generally been a losing game over the last 5-10 years, with a few exceptions of course. Therefore the patient investor is normally the one who's rewarded, plus he/she has an easier life.

 

[Optioholic]

If you are trying to make money both of those are very bad ideas. For one, the ETF's will all lose you money due to contract rollovers and contango. Physical silver you will ultimately get screwed by the sellers/buyers with a large premium.

The only way you will make money longer term is to sell/buy the actual futures contract with a well known company and regulated exchange. Why would you buy silver for retail markup when you can buy it for the actual price on the exchange? Even a mini contract of silver would be worth it.

I would be willing to get involved with futures contract, but I'm not currently willing to make a $41,000 investment in silver. A mini-contract runs 1000 ounces, and with silver at about $41, that is out of my favor as of now.

As far as buying metal for retail markup, I would never do it. I can buy physical spot silver at some local pawn shops around me but then you get into the process of driving around town, testing the silver, weighing it, and an overall tedious process.

 

[Optioholic]

Impossible, think about it - you're asking too much. Nobody is ever going to sell you anything for spot price as they'll be losing money. In effect you're asking them to swallow all their costs.

The only way to buy spot is privately from somebody who wants to sell, then both parties get a good deal.

Plus, have you considered the odds of you making good money buying Silver where it is at the moment? Or to put it another way, you're about 3 months late.

The best time to buy Silver is when they whack it, and whack it hard. That's coming, it always does, but then most will be scared to buy it because they'll think it's topped when in fact the selloff will probably be just a normal vicious selloff which is a character of that market.

Also, the problem with something like SLV is do they actually have the silver in the vaults? If not then are you actually buying silver or just another piece of paper which then has the potential to implode because it's backed by just promises, and promises from investment bankers I might add.

Summary: THE time to buy Gold/Silver is on dips, buying strength has generally been a losing game over the last 5-10 years, with a few exceptions of course. Therefore the patient investor is normally the one who's rewarded, plus he/she has an easier life.

I'm fairly certain I will make money on a silver investment in the long run... a couple years is what I'm looking for. I'm not concerned if silver retraces in the comming months as I'm assuming it will. However if it continues to rapidly rise, which is very possible I may just close and re-open a position at a more favorable price.

SLV does hold physical silver in vaults, which doesn't make me feel anymore secure. As far as I'm concerned, nobody owns any commodity unless it's in your very own hands, which means any electronic transaction regarding the sale of a commodity is nothing more than a piece of paper backed by a promise.

If there comes a point in time where investors must question their right to physical holdings of silver, it's likely too late at that point to stop an impending loss of your silver. Governments will throw the rules right out the window when the going gets rough, and we will only see that happen more frequently in the comming years.

I do appreciate the advice though, and I was sure I was asking too much in regards to physical spot silver, but figured I'de ask because it couldn't hurt.

In regards to future silver mini-contracts... are contracts available under 1000 ounces?

 

[anley]

SLV does hold physical silver in vaults, which doesn't make me feel anymore secure.

Yes, it does own physical Silver.

But is it backed 100% by physical Silver or are there plenty of IOUs which people think are Silver but are actually worthless paper if the crap hits the fan, no better than loo roll. SLV is a disastor waiting to happen and if the metal goes a lot higher it will likely implode due to 'unforeseen irregularities'. Plus if Silver the metal doubles from here, SLV won't double because there are fingers in the till with that ETF.

Buying Silver here is tricky because the physical market is very tight. Plus, be wary of fake Silver, there's a lot of it going around at the moment and a lot more is going to come because of where its currently trading. Better to go small bars/bags of coins rather than large bars as fakers will go large becuase that's where the money is.

 

[etem_tezcan]

Some mint web sites state that they sell 1 oz silver coins with a markup over spot price. markup is about 1.2 usd / coin
I believe this markup is pretty reasonable and can be recovered from another buyer if you sell your coins to another buyer.
an example mint is
http://www.goldenstatemint.com/price-list.html
(just exchanged e-mails, never did business with them)

 

[Optioholic]

Yes, it does own physical Silver.

But is it backed 100% by physical Silver or are there plenty of IOUs which people think are Silver but are actually worthless paper if the crap hits the fan, no better than loo roll. SLV is a disastor waiting to happen and if the metal goes a lot higher it will likely implode due to 'unforeseen irregularities'. Plus if Silver the metal doubles from here, SLV won't double because there are fingers in the till with that ETF.

Buying Silver here is tricky because the physical market is very tight. Plus, be wary of fake Silver, there's a lot of it going around at the moment and a lot more is going to come because of where its currently trading. Better to go small bars/bags of coins rather than large bars as fakers will go large becuase that's where the money is.

That is the tricky part. It is backed by physical silver but not 100%. I'm under the assumption that the rollover rates they charge being an ETF, pay for the silver they house. Therefore I would only assume they own a fractional amount of silver in regards to the investments as a whole made within their ETF.

Even if iShares (SLV) said they house a 1:1 investment/bullion ratio, I still wouldn't believe them. The same iShares entity that oversees the SLV ETF, is affiliated with the iShares IAU ETF, which claims to house a 1:1 ratio of investment/bullion.

When things get rough enough, ultimately I doubt anyone would see a gram of the physical metal that they believe they own.

So it's probably not in my best interest then to get involved with "the market" and commodities, because I do infact believe it's going to get very rough. I guess I'm off to the pawn shops. This is going to be fun...

 

[dmt257]

I use Bullionvault.com for my silver and small amount of Gold. I also trade some a fair bit on there.

 

[shuey]

I use bullionvault too for silver

 

[Bola gold dealer]

Hello, by any chance do you happen to know anyone who is interested in Raw gold?
Thank you in advance.

 

[Hate2Lose]

Most CFD and Spreadbet providers will allow you to trade the spot price of all the precious and industrial metals. Have a look at IG, CMC, CityIndex, ETX, Accendo Markets, Capital Spreads. All should offer decent pricing, margin requirements and spreads. No need to use a commodities focused broker if you can get a solid platform and service for less and the option to trade a whole host of other products (indices, equities, FX, bonds) as well as Silver.