Sep 1, 2022
Safe havens are hard to find these days.
Stocks have plunged, Bitcoin is in the doldrums and even the recently hot real estate market seems to be cooling down due to the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes.
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While it might be tempting to hide out in cash, "Rich Dad Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki believes that it could be the ideal time to “get richer.”
In a tweet on Sunday, Kiyosaki explains how he made a fortune by going against the herd during the Great Recession.
“2008 was great time to get rich. Everything went on sale. Borrowed millions of dollars buying real estate bargains,” he writes.
The author has also been calling for a major crash.
“2013 I published Rich Dads Prophecy predicting BIGGER crash coming. THAT CRASH is HERE. Millions will be wiped out.”
Here’s a look at two assets that might help you survive this storm.
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More: Robert Kiyosaki's net worth
Silver
The famous author is a long-time advocate of investing in precious metals.
Gold and silver have helped investors preserve their wealth for centuries. They can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money and their value is largely unaffected by economic events around the world.
But this time, Kiyosaki is favoring one over the other, and it has to do with the gold-to-silver ratio — which simply refers to the number of silver ounces it takes to buy a single ounce of gold.
“FYI Gold Silver Ratio oldest tracked rate in history: For 20th Century the gold: silver ratio was 47:1…47 oz of silver=1 oz gold. Today 85:1,” he wrote in a tweet last month.
In other words, the current gold-to-silver ratio suggests that gold (silver) is relatively expensive (inexpensive) historically speaking.
Kiyosaki also prefers silver because of its industrial use.
“Silver is an industrial precious metal. Gold is not.”
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The grey metal is widely used in the production of solar panels and is also a critical component in many vehicles’ electrical control units. The industrial demand — plus the hedging properties — makes silver a very interesting asset class for investors.
There are plenty of silver miners well-positioned for a silver price boom. Companies like Pan American Silver (PAAS), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM), and First Majestic Silver (AG) should provide a good starting point for some research.
But Kiyosaki suggests a more straightforward approach — just buy the metal directly.
“I do not touch paper gold or silver ETFs,” he says. “For $25 bucks everyone can buy a silver coin.”
So it might be time to visit your local bullion shop.
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Oil
To be sure, Kiyosaki doesn’t exactly claim that silver is immune to current market turmoil.
“All markets crashing: Real Estate, Stocks, gold, silver Bitcoin,” he tweeted last week.
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But one asset’s strength is very well known at the moment: oil.
It’s not necessarily good for your wallet because higher oil prices mean you are paying more for gas. “Middle class wiped out by higher oil inflation,” Kiyosaki recently tweeted.
Of course, if you own investments with exposure to the energy sector, your portfolio in 2022 will probably look better than those without it.
The price of crude oil slipped in June and July but is still up 34% year to date.
As you’d expect, strong oil prices benefit oil producers. So far this year, investors have enjoyed outsized returns from names like Chevron (35%), Exxon Mobil (51%), and ConocoPhillips (50%).
That said, investing in commodities is a particularly volatile undertaking.
If you’d rather hedge against inflation without the extreme ups and downs of commodity-related stocks, take a look at a few under-the-radar alternative assets.
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Jing is an investment reporter for MoneyWise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
