Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital had the following comments:

After some three years of disappointment, 2015 promises to be a good year for gold investors.

While the near-term price outlook remains uncertain, I feel fairly confident that gold will be considerably higher at this time next year – and on its way to new historic highs in the years ahead.

A number of factors, some interrelated, will drive gold higher.

Here’s my short list of the top gold-price drivers I expect will combine to reestablish the long-term uptrend in the yellow metal’s price.

• U.S. economic performance and monetary policy is key – but under almost any economic scenario, I see gold appreciating.

Despite a few recent positive indicators – and the benefit of lower energy costs – I see the macro economy stumbling in the months ahead. This past year, the gold price has been negatively impacted by expectations the Fed will begin raising interest rates and shifting monetary policy away from accommodation.

Just as the market’s expectations of higher interest rates have been a negative for gold, a reversal in interest-rate expectations will be a plus for gold in the coming year.

• Over the past three years, Wall Street’s booming stock and bond markets have been tough competitors to gold. During this time, institutional investors and traders have shunned gold, preferring to put their money into ordinary stocks and bonds where high returns have seemed assured. One indicator has been the fire-sale of hundreds of tons of metal by exchange-traded funds. These sales have now slowed to a trickle – and much of the metal previously in weak hands has now moved to long-term gold bulls in Asia.

We expect a dose of realism and a substantial correction (or worse) on Wall Street will reverse the flow of investment and speculative funds away from stocks and bonds back into gold.

• Even if I’m wrong and the U.S. economy continues to gather momentum, gold’s long-term prospects still look bright. Under this rosy scenario, renewed Federal Reserve monetary restraint along with higher-than-expected interest rates would scuttle the advance in equity and bond prices, sending a growing number of investors back to gold.

• Don’t forget the insatiable appetite for gold in China, India, and other East Asian markets. Investors in this region will continue buying gold however their economies perform. This year, India and China, the world’s largest gold markets, will have bought over 2000 tons – and this is likely to rise in the year ahead thanks to a relaxation of import restrictions in India and a flight from equity and real-estate investment in China as the economy slips into a lower growth trajectory.

• Last but not least, a growing number of central banks will continue buying gold to diversify their official monetary reserves away from excessive U.S. dollar exposure. Importantly, these are long-term acquisitions and most of this metal will not come back to the market anytime soon, possibly for decades or longer.

Rosland Capital is a seller of precious metals. Click here for free information.

Rosland Capital donated over $12K to the American Red Cross following a month-long promotion in October. Donating $1 for every historic silver peace dollar numismatic coin sold, Rosland was able to raise $12,502 for Red Cross programs that will include those for the armed forces and veterans. The CEO of the Santa Monica Chapter, Julie Thomas, said, “This gift will help the Red Cross provide critical services with a caring touch to men and women in all branches of the United States military, active duty personnel, reservists and members of the National Guard and their families. Thank you, Rosland Capital.” Rosland Capital’s CEO, Marin Aleksov added, “The Red Cross has been an ideal partner for our company, as we too share a commitment to helping active military and veterans nationally and in the local Santa Monica community where our company was built.”

Jeffrey Nichols, senior economic advisor to Rosland Capital had the following comments today:

Any day now, gold could find itself in a sustainable long-term uptrend – or not.

What remains true is that near-term gold-price prospects remain uncertain with the continuing possibility of sizeable price moves in either – or even both – directions.

What also remains true is the high probability that the yellow metal’s price will be considerably higher at this time next year – with a sustainable long-term upswing already underway.

Over the past couple of years the gold price has been driven lower by negative sentiment among a very small number of market participants, principally the bullion banks, hedge and commodity-focused funds, and other institutional speculators trading amongst themselves mostly futures, options, and other “paper” gold products not only on regulated exchanges but also on over-the-counter or dealer-to-dealer markets.

At the same time, a much larger group of gold-market participants – numbering in the millions – have been acquiring huge quantities of physical gold, and continue to do so even as bearish speculators drive the price of the metal lower. This group includes retail buyers of coins, small bars, and investment-grade jewelry in India, China, and even Western markets. It includes Swiss gnomes and Arabian sheikhs, sovereign wealth funds and super-rich family offices, and a number of central banks that are under-weighted in gold and, at the same time, distrustful of the U.S. dollar.

What’s more, clients should be cognizant of the fickle “short-sightedness” of today’s gold bears: They may be here today, pushing prices lower, but they will be gone tomorrow when it looks like price momentum and their technical trading models have shifted gears from “reverse” to “drive.”

Importantly, the accumulation of physical metal by the gold bulls is very long-term in nature and much of these holdings will never come back to the market. This suggests that as the gold market shifts direction, there exists the possibility of surprisingly strong upward pressure on the price of the metal.

Contributing to the negative sentiment among many gold bears of late has been the appearance of a stronger U.S. dollar vis-à-vis the other key trading currencies and the continuing strength of stock and bond prices on Wall Street. We continue to hold the view that as expectations for the U.S. economy once again begin to deteriorate and expectations of prospective Federal Reserve interest-rate policies begin to shift, sentiment toward gold will improve – and the paper traders will again be running prices higher.

From Rosland Capital Senior Economic Advisor, Jeffrey Nichols:

In a national referendum planned for later this month, Swiss voters will be deciding whether or not the country’s central bank should begin buying more gold.

Switzerland already owns some 1040 tons (about 33 million ounces), placing it in the top ten holders of central bank gold reserves behind the United States (with 8,133.5 tons), Germany (with 3,387.1 tons), the IMF (with 2,814 tons), Italy (2,451.8 tons), France (2,435.4 tons), China (with undisclosed holdings), and Russia (with over 1,100 tons).

The so-called “Save Our Swiss Gold” proposal, if supported by more than 50 percent of those voting, would prohibit the Swiss National Bank (the SNB) from selling any of its current gold reserves. But, more importantly, it would require the SNB to hold at least 20 percent of its official reserve asset in the form of gold. Currently, gold accounts for only 7.8 percent of the central bank’s total official reserves.

By our reckoning, a “yes” vote would require SNB gold purchases on the order of 1,500 tons (48 million ounces), most likely spread out over five years; that’s about 300 tons a year, an amount that could be fulfilled by the world gold market without any difficulty, but would nevertheless provide considerable support to the price.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party has been the driving force in support of the referendum, claiming it would “secure a stable Swiss franc.” Meanwhile, the SNB and Swiss Finance Ministry have been vocal opponents of the referendum, arguing that a “yes” vote would be detrimental to economic growth, raising unemployment and risking recession.

Recent polls suggest the November 30^th referendum does not have sufficient popular support – and, therefore, the markets are not expecting any change in the Swiss central bank’s gold policies or lasting impact on the metal’s price.

However, major bullion dealers and a number of leading analysts are of a mixed mind. A “no” vote against raising Swiss gold reserves would likely have no lasting influence on the metal’s price . . . but a surprise “yes” vote would likely prompt a short-term rally followed by a higher long-term average gold price.

Founded in 2008, Rosland Capital strives to educate the public on the benefits of buying gold bullion, numismatic gold coins, silver, platinum, palladium, and other precious metals. Rosland also helps people who wish to protect their wealth by including a gold or precious metal-backed IRA in their asset portfolio. Click here to request free information or contact us.

Rosland Capital was reviewed by Jeffrey Nichols, who provided an honest assessment of why he works with Rosland. Here is an excerpt:

“I’ve also counted a number of precious metals retailers – companies like Rosland Capital that deal with the investing public – as friends and clients.

One thing I’ve learned, above everything else, is that the gold business – from the largest bullion dealer to the “mom and pop” coin shop is built on trust, integrity, and personal relationships.

Companies that don’t value these business principles come and go. Meanwhile, companies – like Rosland Capital– do well by doing good, by putting their client needs first.”

Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital, had the following comments today:

Gold prices have been driven lower by excessive negative sentiment and bearish technical signals among a small number of large-scale institutional speculators – bullion banks, hedge funds, program traders and the like – most trading for very short-term gains while remaining indifferent to long-term fundamentals.

But, over the long run, gold should do very well as an investment asset despite the extreme bearishness now ruling the day. Household incomes are rising as the middle classes in China and India expand; China and India are – by far – the biggest gold-consuming nations. And, economic growth in these two countries – even if disappointing – will be sufficient to support growing middle classes with expanding appetites for precious metals.

In addition, gold will benefit from continued net demand from the official sector as a number of central banks underweighted in gold strive to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar as the world’s dominant reserve asset and trade-settlement currency.

Indeed, whichever way gold prices move next – up, down, or just sideways – I expect super-sized gains over the next three to five years with prices more than doubling their all-time historic high.

Despite occasionally better economic indicators, I remain pessimistic about the broad macroeconomic prospects for the U.S. and other old-world industrial economies.

The Europeans are sinking back into recession. Growth in China and other newly industrialized economies are slowing. And, in the United States, the latest housing, retail sales, and labor-market indicators remain disappointing. This means that major central banks will have no choice but to pursue easy monetary policies for years to come – and gold will be an important beneficiary.

Prior to the financial crisis of 2008, many years of excessive spending by households and governments – much on borrowed money – have left us overly indebted and incapable of sustaining growth in personal consumption consistent with healthy employment and housing markets.

In my view, the aging industrial economies will remain anemic – continuing to underperform for a very long time to come, suffering from what some economists have labeled “secular stagnation.”

Regardless of any current talk to the contrary by central bank policymakers, I believe the Fed may not only keep interest rates near zero for longer than anticipated by the U.S. and world financial markets – but also may reinstate its program of quantitative easing or implement other stimulative policies sometime next year.

Unprecedented easy-money policies have kept the U.S. and world economies from slowing to a standstill or worse . . . but at what cost?

One unintended consequence has been the emergence of gigantic bubbles in stocks, bonds, and many other assets – including fine art, vintage cars and other collectables, New York City apartments, and Midwestern farmland, to name a few. Indeed, gold is one of the few assets that looks relatively cheap!

It’s hard to imagine how the radical monetary policies of the past several years might end – but it probably won’t end well.

Gold markets can no longer count on rising geopolitical risk to support rising prices. Lately, gold has largely ignored the myriad of global risks that occupy the daily headlines. Significant events attract some brief attention and produce short-lived bumps in safe-haven demand for a day or a week with prices briefly spurting higher, but soon giving up any gains.

If geopolitical events are to have a more long-lasting influence on gold prices, they must have significant and long-lasting economic consequences.

As noted above and in past reports, much depends on the whims of a small number of large-scale institutional speculators and their trading models. Much will also depend on which direction the traffic is moving on Wall Street – and the perceived attraction of equities versus gold.

Stock-market valuations are excessive . . . but if irrational exuberance continues to draw funds into equities, gold will have trouble moving higher and could be set up for another great fall.

Instead, if stock prices turn lower and sentiment on Wall Street turns negative, investors will begin discarding equities – and some of the freed up funds will find their way into gold. I’ll have more to say about these investment themes in future Rosland Gold Commentaries.

About Rosland Capital

Rosland Capital LLC is a leading precious metal asset firm based in Santa Monica, California that buys, sells, and trades all the popular forms of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other precious metals. Rosland also helps people who wish to protect their wealth by including a gold or precious metal-backed IRA in their asset portfolio. Founded in 2008, Rosland Capital strives to educate the public on the benefits of buying gold bullion, numismatic gold coins, silver coins, platinum, palladium, and other precious metals. Click here for more information or contact us.

About Jeffrey Nichols

Jeffrey Nichols, Managing Director of American Precious Metals Advisors and Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital, has been a leading precious metals economist for over 25 years. His clients have included central banks, mining companies, national mints, investment funds, trading firms, jewelry manufacturers and others with an interest in precious metals markets.

Rosland Capital has joined forces with Fisher House Foundation and Canada’s Valour Place to create a custom designed coin by the Royal Canadian Mint, which will directly benefit the organizations through sales of the coin. The coin will be distinguished with a custom design, featuring a unique, raised heart – technically called a privy mark, or mint mark – symbolizing what Fisher House Foundation and Valour Place provide – love and care, in the form of free accommodation for American and Canadian military and veterans’ families, while their loved ones are receiving hospital treatment. A percentage of all sale proceeds will be donated to Fisher House Foundation and Valour Place.

To formally announce the on-sale date of the coin, Rosland will debut a new commercial spot featuring William Devane. A strictly limited mintage will be produced, with Rosland donating $1 for every coin sold. The coin will be sold exclusively by Rosland Capital and each organization will receive 50 percent of the donation. The partnership will also include an additional donation of $25,000 to Fisher House Foundation.

“We’re proud to have so many veterans among the Rosland family [of customers] so we’re delighted to be able to support an organization that does so much to help military and veterans’ families,” said Marin Aleksov, chief executive officer of Rosland Capital.

As a result of Fisher House Foundation’s continuing support of veterans and service people’s families, Rosland reached out to the organization to see what they might be able to do to help. Through their correspondence with Fisher House Foundation, they were also connected to Valour Place. This partnership represents Rosland Capital’s continuing commitment to serving the veteran community, and is one of many charitable partnerships they have participated in over the last year.

Rosland Capital today announced a month-long promotion in conjunction with the American Red Cross, Santa Monica Chapter, which serves more than 90,000 people over 16 square miles within the Los Angeles region. Throughout the month of October, Rosland Capital will donate $1 to the American Red Cross for every Silver Peace Dollar sold – giving silver and numismatic enthusiasts a chance to rally behind the national organization’s emergency disaster preparedness, blood collection, international, health and safety, and armed forces services.

“The American Red Cross was the ideal partner for our organization,” Rosland Capital CEO Marin Aleksov said. “Rosland Capital is deeply committed to helping active military and veterans nationally and in the local Santa Monica community, and Red Cross’ services in these areas are exemplary.”

For more than 130 years, the American Red Cross has provided comfort and support to members of the United States military. 1,000 times a day, services are provided to 5.5 million military members and their families, as well as more than 22.4 million veterans, according to the American Red Cross. Proceeds from each Silver Peace Dollar coin sold will help military and veterans in need cope through deployment, engage in emergency communication with their families, recover from injuries and mental distress, while providing a smooth re-entrance into civilian life at the end of service.

To purchase the Peace Dollar silver coin and donate to Red Cross, call 1-800-461-1246.

About the Peace Dollar Silver Coin:

Ever since the birth of the United States, silver coins have been a part of its history. The Peace Dollar was minted from 1921 to 1928 and then again in 1934 and 1935. The Pittman Act of 1918 required in part that the United States strike millions of silver dollars. The U.S. Mint started with the Morgan Dollar; however, numismatists petitioned the government to issue a coin symbolic of peace following World War I. Anthony de Francisci was one of eight prominent sculptors invited to take part in a contest to design the Peace Dollar. He won after using his wife as a model to depict Lady Liberty.

Coin Specifications

Size: $1 Peace Dollar

Purity: 90%

Weight: 26.73 g

Metal Content: 0.77344 Troy oz.

Diameter: 38.10 mm

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.orgor visit us on Twitter at@RedCross.

About Rosland Capital LLC:

Rosland Capital is a leading precious metal asset firm based in Santa Monica, California that buys, sells, and trades all the popular forms of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other precious metals. Founded in 2008, Rosland Capital strives to educate the public on the benefits of buying gold bullion, numismatic gold coins, silver, platinum, palladium and other precious metals. Rosland also helps people who wish to protect their wealth by including a gold or precious metal-backed IRA in their asset portfolio. Follow Rosland Capital on Twitter for company updates and industry news.

NEW YORK (March 15, 2013) – Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital (www.roslandcapital.com), had the following comments on the current gold market situation and outlook:

Gold bears have been a gleeful group of late, pointing to the decline in gold exchange-traded fund holdings as evidence of investor disinterest and citing the market’s rather lackluster performance over the past year and a half along as evidence the decade-long bull market has run its course.

Yes, gold has retreated some 20 percent from its September 2011 all-time high (near $1,924 an ounce) to its subsequent low (just over $1,520).

Yes, Gold ETFs have seen some substantial and high-profile withdrawals in recent weeks.

But these developments in no way diminish my belief that the bull market in gold has plenty of life ahead with the yellow metal’s price doubling (or more) from recent levels in the next few years.

Historically, cyclical upswings in stocks, bonds and commodities have often been measured in decades and bull markets typically end with a rapid advance to record heights followed by a swift and resounding crash. This looks more like equity markets today while gold’s appreciation over the past decade has been a measured advance and its recent performance bears no resemblance to a bursting bubble or a mania run its course.

For all the attention in the financial press, the nearly 10-percent decline in gold ETF holdings from their all-time high in December really tells us very little.

First, it is quite possible that some of these sales were from institutional investors choosing to buy and hold the real thing, directly and under their own control, rather than hold a piece of paper representing ownership but not directly accessible by ETF investors.

Second, many hedge funds and institutional investors are driven by the need to perform well in short term – and simply could not resist jumping on Wall Street’s bandwagon where profits in the next month or quarter looked more attractive to them. Once gold again shows some real life (and it will), those who jumped ship will get back onboard, expecting gold to deliver relatively attractive short-term gains.

Third, gold sold by ETFs has to go somewhere – and where it’s been going is of great importance. On the other side of the market have been central banks, buying for the very long term and unlikely to re-sell anytime soon, perhaps not for decades or longer. It’s as if the gold has been permanently removed from the marketplace and indefinitely unavailable to meet future demand – not just from ETF investors but also from investors and jewelry buyers of every stripe. This means that prices will have to rise much more than might be expected as more buyers compete for a smaller supply of available metal.

In fact, central banks are likely to continue building their gold holdings in the months and years ahead –so that available supply, what I call “free float,” will continue to shrink as gold moves from weak to strong hands.

Ironically, America’s former cold-war rivals – Russia and China – have been the biggest and most persistent central-bank buyers, followed by a diverse group of newly industrialized and emerging economy nations including Mexico, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and others.

Both Russia and China see central-bank gold accumulation as an important step toward playing more important roles in the evolving global economic and political order – while ending America’s dominance in the world monetary system.

Moreover, for those central banks under-weighted in gold and over-weighted in dollars and euros, their motivation has been to diversify their official reserve assets and reduce their exposure to the U.S. and European currencies. With America unable to address its Federal budget deficit and limit its mounting sovereign debt and with economic policy on both sides of the Atlantic in disarray, central banks around the world have a strong incentive to buy and hold gold as a currency hedge and insurance policy.

Gold bears have also been quick to point to the recent strength of the U.S. dollar in world currency markets and the record highs on Wall Street as further confirmation that gold is past its prime.

In my view, the appearance of dollar strength does not reflect a healthy currency. The U.S. dollar is merely the least unattractive contestant in a beauty pageant of ugliness. As such, flight capital seeking a safe haven has been gravitating to dollar-denominated U.S. Treasury debt.

Nor is the record-breaking streak on Wall Street a sign of a healthy economy. It is a consequence of the Fed’s super-accommodative monetary policy and the need for many investors to register positive returns in a near-zero interest-rate environment.

But, when the dollar looks less attractive as a safe haven and big gains on equities look less certain to investors, gold will once again be the leading beneficiary of the Fed’s easy-money policies.

To arrange an interview with Jeffrey Nichols or Rosland Capital’s CEO Marin Aleksov, please contact Carrie Simons at Triple 7 Public Relations (310.571.8217 | carrie@triple7pr.com).

About Rosland Capital

Rosland Capital LLC is a leading precious metal asset firm based in Santa Monica, California that buys, sells, and trades all the popular forms of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other precious metals. Founded in 2008, Rosland Capital strives to educate the public on the benefits of investing in gold bullion, numismatic gold coins, silver coins, platinum, palladium, and other precious metals. Rosland also helps people who wish to protect their wealth by including a gold or precious metal-backed IRA in their asset portfolio. Click here for more information.

About Jeffrey Nichols

Jeffrey Nichols, Managing Director of American Precious Metals Advisors and Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital, has been a leading precious metals economist for over 25 years. His clients have included central banks, mining companies, national mints, investment funds, trading firms, jewelry manufacturers and others with an interest in precious metals markets.