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By Walter Pehowich

It’s about time for us to talk about Platinum and Palladium as investments. Are they suitable and is there any interest these days? If you talk to the average financial advisor about Platinum and Palladium as a retail investment, almost everyone claims that they have no interest. And if you’ve been long in these products for a while, it’s something you probably don’t bring up in any conversation.

Nonetheless, with gold and silver seeming as if they are going into hibernation for the winter (and to press a point if I may, I’m tired of listening to CNBC and Bloomberg network commentators talk about what they think the FED may do) it’s time to turn the page. So let’s talk a little bit about Platinum and Palladium.

Platinum:

• Is one of six metals referred to as the “Platinum Group Metals.” The other five are:
  Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium and Osmium.

• The majority of Platinum comes from South Africa with notable amounts of production in Russia and Canada.
• Jewelry leads the way in Platinum applications, while a good portion goes into catalytic converters for automobiles.
• The following platinum products have been minted in the past and have had their moments in the sun, although lately these coins have been lost in the clouds.
  • American Eagle
  • Canadian Maple Leaf
  • Australian Koala
  • Australian Platypus
  • Chinese Panda
  • And the first pure Platinum coin – The Noble
    

  Palladium:

• Palladium for the most part is called an industrial metal with over 50 percent coming out of nickel mines in Russia and the next leading amount production is out of South Africa.
• Notable minted coins worth mentioning are:
  • The Canadian Maple Leaf.
  • The Russian Ballerina.
  • The Chinese Panda.
    it was a hot commodity. Today it’s rare you get an inquiry for a minted Palladium coin.
• Sales for Palladium minted coins over the years have been just a flash in the pan in my opinion. The only time I can remember Palladium coins rocketing is when Palladium was trading over $1,000 some years ago and the talk was, “it’s not stopping here,” is when it was a hot commodity. Today, it’s rare you get an inquiry for a minted Palladium coin.

I like to say all products have a time to shine. Besides, I only have one thing to say about Gold and Silver today, and take note, this is an important point: Keep an eye on the gold open interest. This combustible combination of the market stuck in a range and new longs increasing every day is like pushing down hard on a spring, eventually the force will produce a dramatic turn…but in which direction?

In the meantime, I figured I’d amuse myself in this quiet market with reading the comments of one the funniest guys that ever lived in my opinion, Yogi Berra. Here’s one of his classic comments: “I’M NOT GOING TO BUY MY KIDS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. LET THEM WALK TO SCHOOL LIKE I DID.”

Walter Pehowich is the executive vice president of precious metals investment services for Dillon Gage with over 38 years of experience in precious metals investment services. His career began in 1977 at Bache (which evolved to Prudential-Bache Securities and then Jefferies Investment Bank). While at Jefferies, he served as senior vice president with oversight of investment grade precious metal products. Pehowich holds a National Futures Association (NFA) Series 3 license, authorizing him to advise and sell alternative investments in commodities and futures markets.