The respected real-estate consultancy Knight Frank has released its 2016 Wealth Report, and the news continues to be bullish for rare coins, but not so bullish in the short-term for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Slowing growth trends around the world apparently have affected the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (or UHNWI) created in 2015, Knight Frank reported. Almost 6,000 people dropped out of the UHNWI wealth bracket in 2015 a 3% slide. This downward shift reflected slower economic growth and the more volatile financial climate, it noted. The rate of global economic growth slowed in 2015, while growth in equity, commodity and other asset prices also decelerated.

First annual UHNWI dip since crisis: A UHNWI is defined as a person with $30 million or more in assets. Meanwhile, the number of plain old millionaires also fell in 2015. Still, Knight Frank expects the populations of UHNWIs and millionaires to grow over the longer term, especially in Asia, but for now the global slowdown has clearly impeded the increase in membership of this exclusive club.

Despite longer-term growth, data from 2015 shows the first annual dip in the global ultra-wealthy population since the financial crisis, Knight Frank researcher Grainne Gilmore said. Last year, only 34 out of the 91 countries for which individual data is compiled saw a rise in the numbers of UHNW individuals.

Luxury-collectibles index up 7%: As for the investments of the ultra-rich, luxury collectibles continue to draw big money and also provide solid returns. While the major stock indexes around the globe began to struggle for instance, Londons leading index the FTSE 100 fell 5% in 2015 Knight Franks Luxury Investment Index rose by 7% last year. The index tracks the performance of 10 high-end asset types: antique furniture, Chinese ceramics, watches, colored diamonds, jewelry, stamps, art, wine, classic cars, and rare coins.

Classic cars continued to lead the way in 2015, gaining 17% on the year. Numismatic coins, however, grabbed second place with a 13% advance. Fine wines and watches tied for third place, logging 5% increases. Art, which so often grabs headlines about record prices, only managed to yield a 4% rise in 2015, tying with jewelry.

Numismatics return 232% over decade: For the longer term, rare coins solidified their top-tier status among luxury investments by finishing second behind classic cars over a five-year period: Vintage autos returned 162%, while coins gained 92%. And over a 10-year period, coins finished in third place with a 232% increase in value, versus 241% for wine and 490% for classic cars.

The overall Knight Frank luxury index has returned 56% over five years and 200% over the past decade.

Emerging markets to fuel collectibles market: The growing preponderance of low and even negative interest rates worldwide should keep the ultra-rich quite focused on investing in hard assets and high-end collectibles.

Theyre already pouring their money into massive yachts. Sales of luxury vessels longer than 24 meters soared 40% in 2015, according to the Wealth Report.

Overall, the future looks healthy for coins and collectibles in general, especially as incomes grow in China, India, and other parts of Asia. As Knight Frank noted, As individuals in emerging markets become wealthier, we expect to see the number of collectors increase. Not only do collectables represent a safe asset investment, they are a way of illustrating status and a sense of having arrived.

For more information about high-net-worth individuals, including their views about estate planning, philanthropy, and investments of passion, see the full Knight Frank report here.

Donald Trumps dominance of the Super Tuesday primaries has all but ensured him the Republican presidential nomination mathematically, anyway. Whether the GOP establishment will contest his ascendancy is another matter altogether.

But what does his potential nomination and/or presidency mean for the financial markets, in particular, gold.

The clearest answer yet is: We dont know. Love him or hate him, Trump has supported the positions of both the Republican and the Democratic parties over the decades. And what that boils down to for 2016 and beyond is uncertainty, which almost always is good for gold.

Moreover, if the GOP self-destructs because of its leaderships rejection of Trumps candidacy, or if Trump soldiers on as a third-party trailblazer, that implosion and resulting turmoil also could help bullion prices.

Uncertainty not yet priced in: Commenting on the outsider candidacies of Trump and his Democratic counterpart, Bernie Sanders, top Allianz adviser and former Pimco boss Mohamed El-Erian noted that the emergence of these nontraditional parties, the anti-establishment parties, adds to uncertainty. Markets in the U.S. havent priced that yet; it is a new phenomenon. It hasnt been priced in yet, but I think that there is an uncertainty premium that is going to come from the political side.

Trumps critics despise his bombastic, antagonistic approach, and the idea that his finger will be on the nuclear button as the U.S. confronts threats ranging from Russia to ISIS is making many people frightened, justified or not.

The Wall Street Journals MoneyBeat blog also weighed in on the issue in a post titled Trumps ascendance could be good for gold. The post cited the possibility that that nervous investors could pile in to gold and other safe-haven assets as an insurance policy.

J.P. Morgan Asset Managements James Sutton explained, If theres any uncertainty regarding the U.S. election and the potential for a slightly off-center candidate, whether that be Sanders or Trump winning the election, then I can see a scenario where thats bad for the dollar.

Critics say Trump will run up the debt: Financial journalist Brett Arends, who works for The Wall Street Journal as well, also said Trumps rise could boost the yellow metal, thanks to the billionaires vow to engage in trade wars with China and other nations, as well as a spending plan that reportedly will add trillions to the budget deficit.

Arends cites a study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which projected that his proposed tax breaks, unless accompanied by very large spending cuts could increase the national debt by nearly 80% of gross domestic product by 2036.

A similar analysis by The Tax Foundation concluded that Trumps tax plan would greatly increase the U.S. economys size in the long run while also boosting the governments deficit by $10 trillion over a decade.

As a result, of this anticipated red ink Arends concludes: Trumps stated policies point toward massive deficits, more U.S. unilateralism, policy uncertainty, and global trade and currency wars. His (Super Tuesday) victory last night ought logically to be bearish for stocks and bonds, and bullish for bullion. We shall see.

Tax reforms could boost U.S. businesses: Other experts, such as Commerzbank, say Trumps candidacy will be a nonissue for gold, giving more importance to movements in bullion-linked ETFs and the federal funds rate.

Still others predict that business could potentially boom under Trump. Stocks will go straight up, OLeary Financial Group Chairman Kevin OLeary told CNBC.

OLeary thinks that Trump will ride a wave of populist anger against the government into the White House and that his proposed reforms of the tax code will give U.S. businesses the edge they have been lacking for quite some time.

However, OLeary argues that once in office, Trump will find that cooler heads will prevail and rein in some of his more controversial plans, such as building a wall along Mexicos border.

Stocks tend to fall in election years: Once again, we dont know whats Trumps possible election will do to markets, but history shows that presidential turnovers can affect financial markets. In the election year itself, the market tends to fall, especially in the final year of a presidents second term, noted Trevir Nath.

Hiccups in equities also can occur later. Economist Yale Hirschs presidential election cycle theory has found that U.S. stock markets are weakest in the year following the election of a new U.S. president.

The jury is still out on the nuts and bolts of Trumps policies, but his unpredictable, anti-establishment candidacy is making many people nervous. Thats good for gold. Likewise, the potential election of Democrats big-government candidate, Hillary Clinton, also could benefit precious metals. The true conservative investing approach amid this election-year uncertainty is to prepare for any contingency and remain prudently invested in both bullion and rare coins.

Renewed Western investment in gold via ETFs has been a key factor in the yellow metals success in 2016. In fact, it has represented a sea change for bullion prices. But another supportive trend is ongoing and shows no signs of stopping: Central banks the world over continue to gobble up gold.

And why wouldnt they? With central banks imposing zero and even negative interest rates, thus sparking a race to the bottom in the value of currencies, gold represents a life preserver for nations worried about their foreign-exchange reserves.

Banks buy up almost 600 tons: Central banks have been net buyers of gold for eight years, with Russia, China, and Kazakhstan among the biggest hoarders, Bloomberg recently reported, citing data from the International Monetary Fund that showed that 590 metric tons of metal were purchased in 2015. These institutions are now on a hot streak unseen since 1965.

We saw this 21^st-century trend gain even more steam in the past few months. Kazakhstan bought 100,000 more ounces in January in a purchase that maintained a 40-month streak of additions; its reserves stand at 7.2 million ounces, up from 6.2 million a year ago.

Russia also dipped its toes in, adding about 700,000 ounces in January to bring its holdings to 46.2 million.

China buying privately and officially: China, too, has been announcing purchases since last year. China will continue to take advantage of the current low prices for gold by both adding to official reserves and encouraging private gold purchases by its citizens, Gold Newsletter editor Brien Lundin confirmed to MarketWatch.

Despite occasional lulls in action, central banks bought gold with renewed vigor in the second half of 2015, the World Gold Council reported, citing the impetus to diversify away from the U.S. dollar, and most analysts think that wont be changing anytime soon.

We expect further official purchases to continue to be one of several factors supporting the price of gold in the next few years, Simona Gambarini of Capital Economics told Bloomberg, while George Milling-Stanley of State Street Global Advisors told MarketWatch: I am expecting demand to remain strong, some small seasonal fluctuations aside, because while todays prices are higher than 2015, they are still considerably lower than four or five years ago.

Reinforcing golds credentials: Central-bank buying is just one piece in an ongoing perfect storm for gold in 2016. Official sector purchases, combined with strength in the Asian markets and continuing momentum in the U.S. and Europe, reinforced golds credentials as a portfolio diversifier, a wealth preservation tool and a hedge against a range of risks, the gold councils Alistair Hewitt asserted in conjunction with the release of the WGCs most recent Gold Trends Report.

Renewed ETF inflows in the West, continuing Asian demand, sinking expectations for interest rates across the globe, Chinas slowing economy and growing debt, plummeting oil prices, unexpected weakness in the U.S. dollar its all coming together for gold in 2016, and central-bank purchases will add long-term support.

A Feb. 26 CoinWeek article headline posed the question, Are gold coins driving buying momentum? Judging by the U.S. Mints February sales figures, the answer is leaning toward yes.

Although gold is outshining silver this year, finishing the month up more than 10% to add to its 6% gain in January, the Mints 2016 silver American Eagle sales have smashed yet another record. Sales hit 4,782,000 for the month, making it the best-performing February in Mint history and the 11^th-highest month ever.

On pace for another annual record: Almost 11 million silver Eagles have been purchased in 2016, and if this pace continues, the sales record of 47 million set last year could well be shattered.

Although totals dipped by 20% from this past Januarys 5,954,500 tally, sales exploded by 58% versus those in February 2015. The sales totals are all the more amazing considering that the Mint continues to ration silver Eagles on a weekly basis, allocating a maximum number of coins (usually around 1 million) to wholesalers because of a shortage of planchets, or coin blanks.

Gold Eagle sales quadruple year over year: Gold American Eagles also are in hot demand. The Mint reported that 83,500 ounces of the 2016 issues were sold in February. Thats down 33% versus the prior month but up more than 350% over the 18,500 ounces purchased in February 2015. For the year so far, sales total 207,500 ounces for a 108.5% increase from the 99,500 ounces sold during the first two months of last year, Coin News reported.

The Mints other gold bullion coin, the gold Buffalo, followed a similar pattern: February saw 19,000 ounces sold, down about 44% versus Januarys 34,000-ounce total but up more than 58% versus February 2015s sales.

Singapore firms sales doubling monthly: And its not just the U.S. Mint reporting massive interest in metals. Check out this recent CNBC interview with Raphael Scherer, a chief international officer at Degussa. Our subsidiary here in Singapore is doubling their sales numbers almost every month now, he said. Buyers come from almost every place in the world. Theyre buying in particular the investment products like bullion and coins, kilo bars, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, mainly investment products. Our forecast is going above $1,300 going toward $1,400 by the end of this year.

Thus, while gold ETF inflows have helped power the yellow metal into bullish territory, so too have coin sales.

Gold-silver ratio zooming higher: And its no wonder that some investors are piling into silver. The gold-silver ratio recently crossed above 83, its highest level since 2008, meaning that it takes about 83 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold.

Some see that as a sign that silver is undervalued. Its also a testament to golds allure as a safe haven amid 2016s multiple uncertainties.

Gold is showing the way higher for silver, wrote Jesses Amricain Caf. The gold/silver ratio is hovering around 80 which indicates either a secular squeeze in physical gold and/or a risk related flight to safety.

Silver is half precious metal, half industrial metal, and it hasnt been the safety play that gold has, Optionsellers.com founder James Cordier told Bloomberg. Gold certainly has done extremely well with uncertainty around the world and with the idea that interest rates wont be rising. Until global growth comes up, the gold-silver ratio will continue to widen.

Buying silver with the gold/silver ratio at 80 is like buying gold on steroids, added Dave Kranzler of Investment Research Dynamics.

Precious metals remain the safety play of 2016, as evidenced by physical coin and bar sales. Pick your poison, gold and/or silver. But right now, silver offers a cheap entry price, especially for those who think gold has risen too quickly in recent weeks.

Golds fortunes have turned around in 2016, and likewise, the miners that produce the yellow metal also are seeing their stocks rise.

BMO Capital Markets this week hosted the 25^th Global Metals and Mining Conference in Hollywood, Fla., where several top industry executives weighed in on golds prospects going forward.

The fundamentals which keep the price of gold up havent changed, whether its jewelry demand, whether its fear about uncertainty and also potentially negative interest rates, which are what people are talking about, and thats given the good support to the gold price, Anglogold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan told CNBC on Monday.

A lot of people moving into gold: Negative interest rates, which are currently in force in Japan and several parts of Europe, will continue to boost gold, especially if the Federal Reserve follows suit. Gold will go up simply because youre actually getting benefit by keeping physical gold or gold equities, he said. They appreciate, as compared to the other classes of investments. And thats the thesis behind it. And youre starting to see a lot of people moving in that direction and funds coming into gold funds.

From the supply standpoint, companies have been pulling back on their expansion and exploration plans, he noted. What you will certainly see is a decline in gold production coming, and it takes about 10 to 13 years for a new gold project to take off. So you will see that supply being squeezed, he said.

For Venkatakrishnan, the cycle is now turning in golds favor, though it wont always be smooth sailing. The four-year bear run in the gold market has to unwind at some stage, and youre starting to see gold position itself very well to basically get the uptick, so Im not convinced its a short-term trend which youre seeing, but there could be volatility, certainly through 2016.

Mine supply to drop by 17%: And Newmont Mining chief Gary Goldberg also outlined a bullish case for gold, concentrating on simple supply-and-demand fundamentals. Fundamentals for the medium to long term are good for gold when you look at both the supply and the demand side, he told CNBC.

On the supply side, people havent been investing in new gold mines. You havent had the investment in exploration. You expect new mine supply to drop by about 17% over the next five years. Demand is still strong. Asia is still the major place where gold goes. Half the gold is consumed in China and India. With the middle class in China going from 300 million to 500 million, India moving to 500 million by 2025 thats all good for gold.

Very positive thanks to negative rates: The Fed will continue to play a key role as well in golds direction, especially if it backs off its plans to raise interest rates as many as four times this year. Over the last couple of weeks, whats happened? Youve had a lot of uncertainty; youve had the Fed finally raise interest rates, which I think dampened the price of gold last year youve finally seen that come off over the last couple of months.

And if the Fed caves and goes negative on rates, I think thats a very positive thing for gold, Goldberg commented.

The grim outlook that miners were facing a year ago has dissipated somewhat for now thanks to the tailwind of higher bullion prices. Playing the mining stocks can add alpha to your gold bets, but like most any investments, dont bet the whole hog. Endless variables from energy and labor costs to disease, war, and environmental regulations can disrupt mining operations and gouge stock values. Therefore, make sure your core gold holding is in the metal itself: physical, tangible gold, plus silver bullion and rare coins.