Whisky Invest Direct review – that will be the topic of today’s article
If you are looking for alternatives and want to invest as an expat or high-net-worth individual, which is what I specialize in, you can email me ([email protected]) or use WhatsApp (+44-7393-450-837).
Who is Whisky Invest Direct?
Whisky Invest Direct was started by Galmarley Ltd, which is associated with BullionVault, which is one of the largest providers of physical gold storage in the world.
BullionVault’s idea was simple. Traditionally, you needed to store gold, insure it and so on. That is an expensive process, which meant most people went for paper gold through ETFs or didn’t buy it at all unless they were rich.
With BullionVault, regular investors could pool together funds to get access to physical gold, without the costs and hassles associated with traditional gold ownership.
Whisky Invest Direct wants to do something similar with Whisky. Essentially, you can own physical Whisky, without the hassles associated with storing the barrels yourself.
How much does this solution cost?
It currently costs 1.75% to buy or sell on the platform.
What are the positives associated with this investment?
- The investment is uncorrelated to stock markets and most other investments, meaning it can go up when markets are down, and vice versa
- The aforementioned point means that you can diversify your investments, during a time when interest rates are so low, and government bonds are paying little.
- The ability to hold an asset which might appreciate in value.
- A strong parent company which owns Bullionvault, estimated to be the largest online seller of gold and silver bullion.
- You do get ownership of the asset. So, in the unlikely event of the liquidation of this company, your assets should be safe.
- Non-UK residents can start investing in this solution.
What are the negatives associated with this option?
- The Whisky investment does not pay a yield, coupon or dividend. This means that you are hoping you can sell the asset to somebody else, at a higher price, in the future. That is a speculation. In the meantime, the costs aren’t low.
- No indication buying Whisky will help you beat the stock market. Stocks might be more volatile and go down more during the bad times, but the long-term growth of the US and other major stock markets has been fantastic. The bigger reason to own is diversification, but you can get that via more liquid assets.
- You can’t always buy and sell – especially buy. They haven’t had stock for months, upon writing this article.
- They state on the website that they will usually only receive and send money back to, the same bank account which the initial investment was funded. Many investment companies are flexible provided you can show ownership of bank accounts and it is in your name. In the international arena, it is normal for many expats to lose bank accounts when they move countries.
- This investment can’t be held on any other online investment platform, so you can’t rebalance your wider portfolio.
- Similar to watches, wine and other collectables, a small percentage of Whisky appreciates in value over time. It is very difficult to know, in advance, which Whisky will outperform the general market.
Conclusion
The idea behind Whisky Invest Direct is fantastic. Wine has long been an alternative investment, and Whisky might increasingly find a similar role.
Overall, this isn’t a bad alternative investment, for a portion of your wealth. However, the solution isn’t cheap, probably won’t beat the stock markets long-term and isn’t always available for new investments.
It is therefore something for a small percentage of your portfolio at most.
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Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters with over 830million answer views on Quora, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
