Palladium investment is not as popular as gold or even platinum investment. But there is more interest shown over recent years and more ways to invest in palladium these days.

The three principle palladium investment opportunities are

Palladium Exchange Traded Funds
Stocks and Shares in Palladium Mining and
Buying Palladium coins and bullion bars

Palladium Exchange Traded Funds
One way to invest in palladium is through a palladium exchange traded fund (ETF).
Here the investment is not in palladium itself but in a special fund called an exchange traded funds. One buys units in this fund and can trade or sell the units back again.

Here the you are investing in the price of palladium rather than palladium itself. The fund is backed by palladium but you cannot redeem it. Only exchange your units for currency. You might ask what is the difference then? The price of palladium used is the futures price as distinct to the market price of palladium on the street as it were. If you go to a site such as eBay for example, you can see that the price of palladium in bars and coins is quite different to the ‘futures’ price traded and upon which the palladium ETF is based. One method of investment is subject to the potential manipulation of the price with the constant buying and selling of gold futures while the other is based purely on the supply and demand of palladium.

The palladium exchange traded fund is listed on the London Stock Exchange as PHPD. It is also listed on the Xetra, Euronext and Milan exchanges.

Stock and Shares in Palladium Mining
This covers investing in gold producers such as mineral companies, mints and even gold futures. However, this does not necessarily mean one is investing in palladium. One is investing, more in the performance capabilities of the mining management team as well as whatever else they are investing in. Many mining companies diversify their activities and may buy or sell into other companies as well as buy and sell assets, all of which may affect their share price. Again here there is no direct investment in palladium. In addition there are tax and fee considerations to be aware of, not to mention management such as when to buy and sell.

Buying Palladium Coins and Bullion Bars
This offers a more direct way of investing in palladium. One can buy palladium coins as well as bullion bars. Examples of such coins are, the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the Chinese Panda. These are relatively cheap compared to gold coins although you still have a premium to pay. Palladium is softer than platinum and so less work is required to manufacture palladium coins. The liquidity of palladium coins is not as much as gold or silver

The turnover in palladium bullion bars is small and, in fact, the production of them ceased for a while due to the very low take up. However investment in palladium bullion bars is increasing so the manufacture of them has started up again.

The most popular palladium bullion bars these days are the one ounce Credit Suisse and one ounce PAMP bullion bars, both of which are refined in Europe. In late 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint struck a one ounce Palladium Maple Leaf coin which is still available from many dealers.
But either coins or bars are good when it comes to palladium investment.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 1:55 pm and is filed under All About Palladium.