Stamps, Storage and Currencies: Making the Most of Your ASI Services

By Carl Weber III

Your current selection of questions has given me a wonderful opportunity to spotlight ASI's variety of services.

Did you know ASI can...

• connect you with domestic and foreign storage,
• convert to and from foreign currencies, and
• assist you in building a Rare Tangible Asset portfolio?

We also offer a myriad of services for owning precious metals in your IRA.

If you have any service needs relating to alternative investments please call our Preferred Client Relations Representatives at 877-340-0790. We probably have an easy solution to what might otherwise be a complex issue.

Can I store metals I have purchased through ASI Precious Metals Direct in an offshore facility? Robert F., Kiawah, South Carolina

A recent development allows you to store IRA holdings in Zurich. ASI has made it possible to store one-ounce gold American Eagles outside the U.S. This is the first time ASI has been able to offer you storage of precious metals held in an IRA outside the U.S., other than with the Perth Mint Certificate Program (PMCP).

Open your relationship at www.asipmdirect.com. It takes less than ten minutes to sign-up. Follow the IRA directions and allocate your IRA holdings by selecting gold Eagles along with the Zurich storage choice.

You have a wider variety of offshore and domestic storage options for individual, joint, corporate or trust accounts. You may store your metals in Zürich, London, Singapore and Melbourne as well as in New York or Salt Lake City. If you create an UTMA relationship for a minor, your precious metals can be stored in any of the locations mentioned above.

Only the ASI Precious Metals Direct Wealth Accumulation Plan, which allows dollar cost averaging into precious metals, is limited to storage in New York City.

I have foreign currencies I want to convert into U.S. dollars for the purpose of buying real estate in New York. Can ASI help? Amy A., Tel Aviv, Israel

One of the major services provided by ASI is currency conversion. We work with specialized banks abroad that can receive your foreign currencies. We will instruct you on how to transfer the currencies to the banks with which we work. Next, we will wire the U.S. dollars to the bank of your choice.

That's all there is to it.

And, it works both ways. There are very few currencies we cannot convert to or from dollars. Lately, many of our clients are working, receiving payments or traveling abroad and we provide this service to them virtually worldwide.

I missed your stamp event at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Is there any way I can get some information, and are you planning another such event? Casey S., Wilmington, Delaware

I'm sorry you missed this truly unique event. The feedback we received was excellent. We certainly plan to hold more such events, so please keep on the lookout for the next one, or let me know if I should add you to the list of future attendees.

As for a recap of the event... honestly, nothing compares to being there. Some of the highlights we saw were the Penny Black stamp, a letter postmarked on the moon by astronauts, the priceless Inverted Jenny and handsome Chinese stamps. We even created our own 'virtual' stamp collection before we met for our three-hour workshop and heard from our experts and specialists.

Geoff Anandappa, Investment Portfolio Manager of Stanley Gibbons Ltd. dazzled us with examples of high-value stamps, but also gave us a down-to-earth system (for about $17,000) to reduce portfolio volatility. For example, Geoff showed us how rare stamps grew in value in 2008, when most every other investment took a tumble. And, he explained why uncorrelated assets make a difference in our peace of mind against fiat currencies.

Steve Emerick, Manager of ASI's Preferred Client Relations, and I spoke of our experiences in London at the offices of Stanley Gibbons last July. We related how impressed we were with the deep expertise they have in identifying truly investment grade rare stamps.

Of course, we heard from Michael Checkan and Rich Checkan on how alternative investing helps you Keep What's Yours.

Sandy Franks, Executive Director of Contrarian Profits, our co-host for the event, gave it to us straight as to why mainstream investments are hazardous to your wealth.

Ryan Cole, Editor of Unconventional Wealth, explained why rare stamps are the right choice as he described the importance of investing with passion...not emotion.

All of our speakers agreed rare stamps are an undiscovered asset, despite their historic growth-rate of 11% on average per annum for the past forty years. Rare stamps are driven by collector preferences while other economic factors barely affect price, making this asset class important portfolio ballast in rocky economic times.

Summary: You can easily access any of ASI's services, including precious metals storage, currency conversion and more with one phone call to a Preferred Client Relations representative at 877-340-0790.

Send me a question you'd like to see answered in next month's Q & A article.