It is common for investors to turn to gold and silver in times of crisis and turmoil. Precious metals are often viewed as insurance against uncertainty and often maintain value that traditional currencies cannot. When the Gold Standard went out the window, so too did the quantitative/tangible support of the U.S. dollar.
So, when economic downturns occur and the dollar seems under threat by inflation, investors revert back to that age-old wisdom: gold has value; silver has value: they are tangible and precious.
“It is a comfort for most people, to have some gold or silver stored away as an insurance policy if there is ever a financial collapse. I’ve been specializing in precious metals and collectibles for most of my adult life and the mentality that I notice from clients is that they use metals as a way to hedge their bets and make sure they have some kind of a foundation to provide for their families if things should go wrong with traditional currencies,” said Saint Jovite Youngblood.
When the dollar is strengthened, that can have an opposite effect on precious metals.
For example, according to Forbes, Wheaton Precious Metals saw a 13% decrease in a single month, driven by a drop in gold of more than 4% and silver prices by six percent in the last month. Now the stock is trading below $40 a share.
“As most of WPM’s revenues comes from gold and silver, the stock dropped over recent weeks. But will WPM’s stock continue its downward trajectory over the coming weeks, or is a recovery in the stock more likely?,” according to Forbes.
Youngblood sees what is occurring as a typical ebb and flow of the markets and the natural adjustments that occur when global equities are hit hard by a pandemic and then a recovery thanks to vaccinations and the new Covid-19 treatment pill created by Merck.
Forbes looked to the Trefis Machine Learning Engine, a tool that “identifies trends in a company’s stock price data for the last ten years.”
The learning engine shows that Wheaton stock will recover and produce returns of nearly 8% over the next three months or 63 trading days – after the 13% drop the previous month.
“Also, there is a 60% chance of the stock giving positive returns over the next three months,” according to the article.
The level of analysis made possible by machine learning and the ability for it to sift such extensive data is something that Youngblood calls remarkable.
“We are hitting a new era where the human mind can be bolstered by extensive data sifted and filtered by high tech machines in new ways,” Saint Jovite Youngblood said. “This is an exciting time and I am emboldened by the positive results from the Trefis Machine. It remains speculation, but a sort of educated speculation.”
The machine learning engine allows for investors to input different timeframes for holding stock to see what the likely return would be.
While different timeframes and scenarios can be selected and essentially “tested” using machine learning, Forbes pointed out some old school investment wisdom in the article:
“Overall, according to data and Trefis machine learning engine’s calculations, patience absolutely pays for most stocks!”
That includes Wheaton Precious Metals Corp stock, per the article.
“The expectation is over time the near-term fluctuations will cancel out, and the long-term positive trend will favor you – at least if the company is otherwise strong,” according to Forbes.
Youngblood said that having tangible assets will always be appealing to people, despite the push for more digital currencies.
“There is something intrinsic to humans, maybe some link to our ancestors – having gold and silver tucked away for a rainy day is just a good thing to do,” he said.