gold, page-22

I am not sure I understand your logic Slange. How is it that owning physical gold has no risk? If the Chinese banks were buying their physical at $1900 using Renminbi eq at the time, their USD value of gold is underwater. Ther could get a floating lesser loss if converted to Yuan at current Yuan fix but since it is peg I don't see any advantage there.

Sorry buying physical only satisfy the mind that they have bought something solid instead of paper akin to bricks and mortar. Ask those who purchase in Karratha or Dunsborough with no margin if they got a good deal during the boom years in mining? Or Bowen for that matter?

This is how I see buying physical to be. If you buy it on the right direction then all you have is a virtual capital gains while in holding. This is the intangible euphoria of knowing the value of one's investment is positive. If one keeps holding thinking it can rocket to the moon and it does not like current, then the holding period went from positive virtual cap gain to negative. In that whole period, there are no dividends and only holding expenses of vault fees and insurance. You then fall into the typical HC logic, if I did not sell I did not lose any money! In this scenario, I rather be holding a big 4 bank if comparing directly the 2 asset class.