Trading Hard Assets - Gold, Oil, Copper

Question: What i wanted to pick your brain on is, do you believe it is wise to invest in hard assets (i.e. gold, oil, copper, etc.)? the past few years, gold has been HUGE though i think it's already a little too late for people like me to jump right into it. what are your two cents?

Answer:

"I do concur with your assertion for hard assets. It is a good idea to invest into scarce materials that have nowhere to go but up over long periods of time. Take for instance gold. From what I understand, there is more gold today in junkyards than there is in the mines. (haha, I heard of one company via the Discovery Channel that's grinding up stuff really finely & flinging it off a conveyor belt where the heavier gold lands farther away) That said, in theory, it's never too late to invest in these assets although finding the right entry point is the questionable detail. During fears of recession, invest in gold. Period. How much hidden "recession fears" still lie in wait for the market is your own judgment call. Likewise, oil is one of those assets that is just going to disappear over time... but in my opinion, oil's already peaking at this point. The supply is still vastly available now, just not in 50 years. Copper, however, is an interesting hard asset. Supply can't be turned on & off just like oil can because for the most part, there aren't too many copper mines in the world. We are running out of copper because of increased demand, and limited copper mine openings. Copper is probably the easiest asset of the three to know in advance of its supply & demand.