Why Invest in Metals?

There has never been a better time than now to get involved in the trade and investment in metals. As the old saying goes, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. With scrap metal that’s definitely the case, and at the very lowest level it is possible to monetize your investment from a number of different sources. Aside from that, metal investment is seen as a safe haven from riskier investments in times of crisis, which has naturally become particularly relevant since the sub-prime mortgage sector collapse and the resulting stock market unrest throughout the later months of 2007. In this article we will look at why investment in metals may be a valuable proposition, and why it may be favoured over other investment strategies.

Scrap metal is a valuable commodity for the simple reason that it can be resold in parts to other dealers, or eventually melted down and recycled for resale. From there, a commodity trade has emerged where investors from around the world are drawn towards buying up scrap metal with a view to providing a stable return on their investment later down the line. Because recycled metal is and always will be in demand, there is a ready buyers market alongside those selling, which makes the scrap economy tick over relatively smoothly.

Investment in metals is usually considered to be a ‘safe-haven’ in times of economic trouble, like at present with the fallout from the subprime sector crash in the US. Metal, because it is a valuable commodity in its own right, is rarely affected by wider economic factors, unlike the stock market or as we’ve seen recently, debt securitization. For that reason, investors usually flock to the metal market when other economic signs start to take a turn for the worse, as a safe and sustainable way of investing long term outside of high risk investment strategies. Scrap won’t take a tumble because of inflation or recession because it is a vital commodity that will always serve a purpose to someone – even if that is just through melting down to sell to recycling plants.

Another great reason to get involved in metals at the moment is the rapid growth in demand from emerging markets in Asia, like China and India, which are both consuming significant quantities of metals with an insatiable demand, to fuel their economic growth and build their commercial and social infrastructures as they continue to grow. For this reason, metal is in more demand than ever before pushing prices through the roof and giving prudent investors an excellent return on their money, without jeopardising the safety of their investment portfolios.

If you’ve never considered metal investing, there really is no better time than the present to make your move in to the market. For a safe investment that isn’t overly affected by external factors with rapidly growing demand from Asia in particular fuelling price growth, the scrap metal trade is becoming an increasingly popular and wise addition to the investment portfolio.