When it comes to seniors making investment decisions, there are a lot of reasons to exercise caution.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has warned that seniors are often the target of fraud.
To help combat this, experts sugget you should be skeptical about those offering guaranteed returns, investments sounding too good to be true, and high-pressure sales tactics.
One of the many available options is putting money into such traditional safe havens as gold. Expanding that line of thought, savvy investors should also consider diamonds,
“Seniors are concerned about putting all their money into paper investments and electronic blips. Investments on paper or a computer they can’t see and touch,” explains Sean Cohen, president of Van Zwam, the developer of Defined Value Diamonds (DVDs).
“Having seen many ups and downs, they are less trusting of banking institutions, the stock market, and other types of investing that are out of their hands and often difficult to understand,” explained Cohen, also a Newsmax Finance Insider.
Cohen explained that an increasing number of seniors are considering investing in the diamond market, especially for these five reasons:
- Having heirlooms and gifts. Investing in diamonds gives people the ability to have a special heirloom or gift of great value and emotional impact. Something to pass down to loved ones whenever they choose. Rather than have cold paper or electronic investments to figure out and hunt down.
- Going tangible. With the many doubts about the stock market and putting your money into the bank where it is electronic and earning little, having an appreciating tangible investment to hold in your hand and keep anywhere is something appreciated. Plus, one can find out the updated value of the diamond investment at any time, just by making a phone call.
- Understanding more. Purchasing diamonds for investment purposes, gifts and heirlooms is something that seniors understand. There’s no guessing games or pages of paperwork to try and figure out. It’s a simple way to invest that most people understand. Nor are there fees registrations and other administrative burdens.
- Feeling comfortable. Seniors feel more comfortable putting some of their money into something that is physical and tangible, something one can hold in their hand, and that they have been familiar with their whole life.
- Avoiding scams. Investing in diamonds is a straight forward approach whereby the investor just selects the size and number of diamonds they want to invest in. This makes it easy for seniors to avoid investment scams and high pressure sales tactics.
“Many seniors are adding diamond investing to their portfolio so they are well diversified,” added Cohen.
“Diamonds have shown a nice steady 5% average growth per year, making it a much safer investment than so many others they could consider putting their money into. And it’s something you can easily keep at home, gift whenever you choose, enjoy in jewelry and easily sell if ever the need arises,” Cohen said.
To be sure, a total of 17 percent of Americans over the age of 65, or 6.8 million people, have been taken advantage of financially through high fees, inappropriate investments or outright fraud, according to a recent survey.
The findings from a survey done by Public Policy Polling for the Investor Protection Trust showed an improvement from a similar study taken in 2010, which discovered 20 percent of seniors had been victimized. Investor Protection Trust is a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education and protection.
Those involved in the study said seniors, over time, have become better educated about financial matters, and that both the children and health-care providers of seniors are more aware of medical problems that might diminish older people’s ability to make decisions about money.
“While it is still alarming to see that nearly one out of five older Americans have been victims of financial swindles, it is encouraging that doctors and adult children are more tuned into this problem,” Don Blandin, president of Investor Protection Trust, told Bloomberg.
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