When it looks like times might get tough, I don’t worry—I act. I do as much research as I can and then put that research to work by making the most educated decisions possible for myself, my family, and my financial future. And right now, it looks like many Americans might by doing the exact same thing.
As the latest banking crisis continues, central banks are coming together to find solutions.
On March 19, 2023, Yahoo Finance wrote that the first two weeks of March brought “a year’s worth of headlines” related to the Federal Reserve—specifically, they mean the banking crisis that has unfolded over the past few weeks.
Since the start of March 2023, we’ve seen the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which former U.S. Mint Director Edmund C. Moy wrote about here last week; the $54 billion government bailout and subsequent purchase of 166-year-old Swiss bank Credit Suisse by fellow Switzerland-based bank UBS; and a massive liquidity injection of $30 billion in uninsured deposits to the struggling First Republic Bank by 11 of its competitors.
Then, on March 19, 2023, several of the world’s central banks—including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank, and our own Federal Reserve, announced “a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing U.S. dollar liquidity swap line arrangements.” Or, as CNN put it, they’re hoping to “boost the flow of U.S. dollars through the global financial system with the aim of keeping credit flowing to households and businesses.”
If the world’s central banks are working together to try to mitigate current banking crises, I think it’s fair to say that the banking industry is experiencing a high level of uncertainty right now. And with uncertainty can come volatility—leading many Americans to look for other options when it comes to protecting their wealth.
While banks work to stabilize their industry, consumers continue to be worried about their financial futures.
Here at U.S. Money Reserve, our phones have been ringing off the hook with calls from clients concerned about the safety of their bank deposits. They’re worried about whether their banks are also at risk and what that might mean for their retirement funds or the financial security of their loved ones.
If you’re like me and hound the financial headlines every day, you’ve seen the response to these worries: In many cases, large financial institutions are believed to be in a better position than Silicon Valley Bank was—specifically, they have far more diversification in their assets and customer base, making a bank run less likely. But as with any financial system, risk can exist—and sometimes, that possible risk leads us to look for alternatives when it comes to protecting our wealth.
A precious metals IRA may help provide peace of mind—and there’s still time to contribute for the 2022 tax year.
Tax Day for 2023 is April 18, and until that deadline, contributions can be made to retirement accounts for the 2022 tax year. If you find yourself worried about the current banking crisis or any resulting market volatility that may impact your retirement savings, it may be a good time to begin exploring the benefits of putting a portion of your retirement portfolio into physical gold—an asset many turn to in economic environments just like the one we’re experiencing now.
When you open a precious metals IRA backed by physical gold and silver, you create a new section of your portfolio that exists outside of the traditional banking system. Precious metals depositories must be approved by the IRS before holding the contents of an IRA, and they don’t function the same way as regular banks or credit unions.
With one of these accounts, you use actual gold bars and coins as part of your retirement savings, not gold mining stocks, gold ETFs, or other forms of “paper” gold. And when the time comes to take distributions in retirement, you have the option to receive those exact same gold coins and bars as an in-kind distribution.
As I stated above, there’s still time to roll over or transfer funds from an existing retirement account and make new contributions for the 2022 tax year before Tax Day arrives. You can even double your new contributions by adding funds for both the 2022 and 2023 tax years at the same time.
Knowing that a portion of your wealth is stored as real, tangible assets can help bring peace of mind in uncertain times—especially when planning for an uncertain future. If you think an IRA backed by physical gold would benefit your portfolio, give us a call today.
