Global investors have voted with their pocketbooks this year and gold and silver are the undisputed winners. There are no hanging “chads” to argue about or uncounted votes left on the floor.

Gold is up 24%, while silver has gained 36%

Both metals remain well below their all-time highs.

As the contest between U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Trump (R) remains a near dead-heat, nervous money managers around the world have been diversifying into gold.

No matter your political convictions, there are potential economic ramifications from a Clinton win versus a Trump win. Here is a quick look at a few factors that could impact the economy, financial markets and gold under both scenarios.

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Stock Market

Wall Street consensus right now shows a slight edge and expectation that Clinton will take the White House on November 8. That leaves open the door for a stock market shock to the downside if Trump pulls out a win.

Gold impact: Metals like gold and silver would likely show a knee jerk rally in response to a down move in stocks. Gold bullish.

The Federal Reserve

Under a Clinton victory, Janet Yellen is expected to remain in control of the Federal Reserve and an interest rate hike is likely in December.

Trump has criticized Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as being “political.” If Trump wins Novembers presidential election, there is a clear possibility that Fed Chair Janet Yellen would resign almost immediately, perhaps even before the mid-December FOMC meeting, say economists at Capital Economics.

Gold impact: A Trump win could mean low interest rates for longer = gold bullish.

A Clinton win could leave door open for Yellen to hike rates, which could trigger sell-off in stocks and support gold and silver. Gold wins in either scenario.

Rising Deficits

Both presidential candidates oppose cutting entitlements (e.g., Social Security and Medicare) and favor additional spending on infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.),” according to a Wells Fargo Investment Institute research report.

Gold impact: bullish

Inflation

Trumps easier fiscal policy and decreased regulation could drive growth and inflation higher in the near term,” according to a research report from Credit Suisse.

Gold impact: Rising inflation is gold bullish

Trade Policy

It is widely expected if Trump wins in November that he would not ratify the current trade deals in progress. A bigger uncertainty and question for the economy and financial markets is would he carry out his threat to raise import tariffs of 35% and 45% on imports from Mexico, and China respectively.

Economic impact: If Trump did impose high tariffs on imports from China and Mexico, there would be a temporary rise in inflation in the US, say economists at Capital Economics. Gold impact: Rising inflation is bullish

Bigger risk:Aggressive trade policies from the U.S. could unleash a wave of protectionist measures similar to those which occurred after the Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930 and are credited for contributing significantly to the Great Depression.

Gold impact: bullish. Gold remains a safe haven and flight to quality investment vehicle that stores wealth in slow and negative growth period, especially when central banks continue to devalue paper currency.

Status Quo Policies

“Clinton represents the status quo,” a Credit Suisse report says.

Another take: Clinton’s proposals for “taxes, spending, and regulation are negative for financial markets, but congressional compromises may blunt the impact somewhat. When combined with a more positive trade policy, the net overall market impact may be neutral,” Wells Fargo says.

Bottom line: The current environment of sluggish U.S. economic growth, ineffective monetary and fiscal policy has been extremely bullish for gold. A Clinton win could mean more of the same types of policies that have left the economy showing sub-par historical growth.

Gold impact: bullish

This presidential race is too close to call and economic risks loom like black clouds on the horizon. “Higher budget deficits and trade restrictions are prominent risks in our scenarios. Limiting trade, widening deficits, and raising the public debt should be negative for the dollar and U.S. financial asset prices during the next four years,” conclude economists in a Wells Fargo Investment Institute report.

In many scenarios, no matter who takes the White House, gold comes out a winner. What’s in your portfolio right now? Are you properly diversified with up to 30% in hard assets, which include gold and silver?

Take action now before the election roils markets. Gold and silver remain well below their all-time highs, which opens the door to another strong rally before year-end.

Saturday, October 1, marks a significant milestone in the world of global finance as the Chinese renminbi enters the basket of world reserve currencies, joining the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen and British pound.

The decision by the International Monetary Fund to give the renminbi special drawing rights status (which was actually announced by the IMF last November) caps a multi-year effort by the Chinese government to gain entry into the exclusive club of global financial heavyweights.

Despite fears of the renminbi usurping the U.S. dollars dominant role in global markets, the greenback will retain its place as the worlds reserve currency of choice for some time to come. But gold investors should pay attention to the rise of the renminbi, as the Chinese economy continues to grow and gain influence on the global financial stage.

A symbolic move

The inclusion of the renminbi in the IMFs reserve currency basket is a de facto stamp of approval, denoting Chinas currency as a widely accepted and liquid form of exchange.

Chinas currency plays a small but growing role in global finance. With its special drawing rights status, more global central banks will add renminbi to its reserves. More business transactions will also be conducted in the currency, more than the 2% of trade that is done in renminbi as of 2014.

The ascension of the renminbi alongside the U.S. currency may seem a threat to the dollars long-time supremacy in global markets. It does change the game in many respects, but the dollars importance on the world financial stage isnt about to fade.

For one, the U.S. dollar will remain the dominant currency in the IMFs special drawing rights basket, at 41.7%, even after the renminbi is added to the mix. In fact, its the other reserve currencies (the euro, yen and British pound) that will lose share to make room for Chinas currency.

A matter of trust

Second, trust matters more than the IMFs tacit approval among financiers looking to do business in China. Financial reform in the country has come a long way, but the Chinese government needs to do more to increase transparency and build the regulatory infrastructure that can increase trust among the investment community.

The U.S. dollar wont lose its title as the worlds reserve currency anytime soon. That means commodities from oil and natural gas to precious metals like gold and silver will continue to be priced in dollars. Plus, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar will continue to influence the price of gold and silver.

Thats not to say the dollars premier status is ironclad. The U.S. currencys leading position is under threat more from internal pressures: a large overhang of government debt that continues to grow and widening trade imbalances could loosen the foundation that has made the dollar the standard denomination for pricing hard assets.

Hedging reserve currency risks

But the challenge to the dollars dominance as the worlds reserve currency will be played out over the long term. A collapse in the dollar is an outlying possibility, but its a risk that gold can help hedge. Gold can act as a form of insurance to help preserve wealth should dollar-based assets plummet in value.

Gold is also an effective tool for portfolio diversification. Equity and bond investments will be affected by fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar. An allocation to gold in a portfolio can help lessen some of the risks investors face from higher volatility in the currency markets.

Greater acceptance of the renminbi will also bring more attention to changes in its value and flows in and out of the country. Any possible devaluation in the currency has the potential to upset global markets, much like what had occurred in August 2015. Those events would also increase investor demand for gold and help push gold prices higher.

Diversification is a smart investment approach not only between stocks, bonds and precious metals but also within the metals sector itself.

For just over a decade from roughly 2000 to 2011, platinum traded at a premium (or higher price) than gold. Currently, platinum trades at a discount to gold or simply put it’s about $280 cheaper per ounce. That means platinum is cheap relative to gold since the start of 2000.

Are platinum coins part of your precious metal strategy?

Platinum benefits from both investment demand, in the form of bars and coins, and also from significant industrial and manufacturing demand worldwide.

Platinum boasts a wide variety of industrial applications and revs up heavy demand from automakers for use in catalytic converters. Platinum is also used in dentistry, watch-making, in pacemakers and other medical treatment devices.

Demand for platinum coins has been on fire this year. In the first half of 2016, platinum coin sales increased by 98% year-on-year, according to the GFMS team at Thomson Reuters.

U.S. Mint Sells Out

Voracious investment demand emerged at the U.S. Mint this summer for platinum coins. In July, the U.S. Mint began selling platinum coins for the first time in two years and sold out completely of its inventory a month later.

In July, the Mint offered 20,000 legal tender 2016 American Eagles1-ounce platinum bullion coins. Within days, the Mint sold 19,000 ounces, marking July as the highest quarterly sales level since 2001. In August, the US Mint sold out of the remaining 1000 platinum coins available. The U.S. Mint does not sell its American Eagleplatinumbullion coins directly to the public. Instead, the platinum coins are offered to a list of approved firms called “authorized purchasers” who then resell them to dealers, collectors and investors.

The Big Picture

Precious metals from gold to silver to platinum are posting massive gains in 2016, far outpacing returns in stocks and bonds. Silver is the leader up 44% through Sept. 22, while gold recorded a 26% advance and platinum is up 19%.

Investors around the globe have been aggressively buying precious metals coins to diversify their portfolio, including gold, silver and platinum. The case for diversifying with precious metals is clear.

Source: World Gold Council

Precious metals coins and bars are a major asset class, just like stocks and bonds. Most importantly they show a negative correlation to the stock market, which means typically when stocks fall, precious metals rise. If one asset class is falling, it benefits your portfolio to own another asset that will rise during that time.

With platinum trading at a discount to gold since the beginning of 2016, its lower price point of entry has encouraged strong investment demand.

The Fundamentals

Despite the slowdown in global growth, industrial demand for platinum remains high in the automotive, chemicals and glass sectors and is estimated to rise by 10% in 2016, according to Johnson Matthey. Meanwhile, the platinum market is expected to show a deficit of 861,000 ounces this year.

Platinum coins and bars are a great way to diversify your bullion holdings, given their dual role as a precious metal investment but also one with strong industrial applications. Call Blanchard and Companys Portfolio Managers at 1.866.827.4314 to learn more.

Despite all the rhetoric, the Federal Reserve held the line on interest rates at itsWednesdaymeeting. Mixed reports on the U.S. economy–positive job numbers and wage gains, but sluggish GDP growth–largely kept the Fed from raising its target rate this time around.

Gold investors can take some delight in the Feds decision to pass on rate hikes. The absence of Fed action means uncertainty will continue to dominate in the near term and should support gold prices at their current levels. But the longer-term prospects for gold should also give investors reason to be optimistic, no matter what direction interest rates take may after future Federal Reserve meetings.

The reasons are three-fold. First, golds current price remains well below historic highs, which gives them plenty of room to grow.. Investors can expect dips and these slight declines should been seen as opportunities for investors to build their allocations at discounted prices.

Second, the U.S. economy may be in expansion mode, but the current cycle is getting long in the tooth. On average, economic expansions last around 70 months, but the current expansion has gone on more than a year beyond this average. The longer this slow recovery grinds on, the more likely it becomes that this cycle of growth expires. That gives Janet Yellen and Co. a limited window to raise rates, if the Fed even gets to that point.

Third, global central banks continue to experiment with easy money policies, even as the Federal Reserve looks to return U.S. monetary policy to something closer to normal. Case in point is the Bank of Japan, whichon Wednesdaymorning affirmedits 80-trillion Yen bond-buying program and stated its intention of exceeding its 2% inflation target. The immediate result was predictableJapanese stock indexes zoomed higher and the Yen plunged in value relative to the dollar.

Risk will continue to escalate as long as global central banks keep the spigot of easy money open. That makes gold and other precious metals more attractive for investors looking to shelter their wealth from risk through tangible asset classes.

Finally, were less than 50 days out from one of the most contentious presidential elections weve experienced in recent U.S. history. According to recent polls, the outcome could go either way and neither option is promising for economic growth. The uncertainty around the election and its impact should keep markets on edge, with an eye toward the relative safe havens of gold as a way to preserve wealth.

September 15 will mark the eight-year anniversary of D-Day in the global financial crisisthe morning that markets around the world learned how much the housing-debt implosion would permanently alter the financial industry landscape.

The language of the financial markets changed that day too, when we learned what the words too big to fail would mean to the largest U.S. banks.

One of those too big to fail banks–Wells Fargo–was right in the heart of the storm those days. But eight years on from the worst of the financial crisis, the too big to fail rules seem to have allowed Wells Fargo to run an extensive fraud scheme on its customers without much fear about the consequences.

Its clear from both the pervasive abuse of trust Wells perpetrated on its customers and the wrist-slap punishment it received from the U.S. government that problems continue to exist at the top of the U.S. banking system. We havent truly fixed the too big to fail problem. That should be a warning signal to investors about the ongoing fragility of the financial markets.

Trust was broken by Wells Fargos hard-driving cross-selling culture, where associates were pushed to meet sales targets for new accounts from existing customers. The strategy was undoubtedly a success for Wells and its shareholderson average a Wells consumer household held 6 accounts with the bank, and Wells Fargo emerged as the largest bank by market capitalization.

Now we know more about the path Wells took to the topopening 2 million fake accounts in its customers names, even creating false PINs for many these accounts. Some bank employees even transferred funds between accounts without customer knowledge or authorization.

The bank was slapped with a $185 million fine from federal regulators, and has taken action on its own to fire 5,300 employees who were implicated in opening these sham accounts. These punishments are severeor would be to any other banking institution except one of the size of Wells Fargo.

A $185 million fine is a drop in the bucket for a company with $5.6 billion in net income for just the 2^nd Quarter of 2016. And the 5,300 terminated employees represent around 2% of Wellss 268,000-strong workforce.

For a mid-size American bank, 5,300 workers would be the entire company, and a $185 million penalty would likely put a significant dent in their profitability. But Wells Fargo is so large that these sanctions wont even register on their radar. The damage will be much more extensive to the banks reputation in the marketplace, not only with customers but investors as well.

The entire Wells incident says a lot about how far weve come in 8 years with too big to fail banks. The six largest U.S. banks–JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, in addition to Wells Fargodwarf the rest of the banking industry in terms of market cap, customer accounts, deposits and market influence.

Should any one of these banks fail, a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions will likely result. So all of the effort that when into writing new regulations to prevent too big to fail banks from wrecking the U.S. economy has largely been ineffectual.

We need a healthy and well-run U.S. banking system. The stories of widespread malfeasance at one of the U.S. banking giants calls into question how healthy and well-managed these institutions really are.

Given the fragile state and uncertain conditions of the dominant financial market players, wealthy investors should continue to position their holdings with an eye on preservation and protection of value.

The early 1870s were an important time for the United States Mint. In one key event, 1873 passage of the Coinage Act marked the last year that the silver dollar coin would be struck.

This effectively ended production of the silver dollar for commercial use. Not only changing the landscape of coins in the United States, this development ensured the rarity and collectability of silver dollars today. The 1870-s silver dollar is known today as one of if not the rarest silver coins ever struck in the United States.

Also known as the 1870 Seated Liberty Silver Dollar, this silver dollar has a face value of $1.00. It was designed in 1840 by Christian Gobrecht, the Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint at that time.

The coins obverse and reverse sides were originally based off of one of Gobrechts earlier silver dollar designs, with a left-facing seated lady liberty on the front. The back of his early design depicted a soaring eagle.

However, prior to full-scale production of the silver dollar coin in 1840, the Director of the U.S. Mint changed the designs slightly. The seated lady liberty design was modified to depict a woman with a larger head and fuller clothing. Thirteen stars were also placed around her head and the overall relief was lowered.

On the reverse, the soaring eagle was replaced by a left-facing eagle, inclusive of a shield on its breast. The words United States of America and One Dollar were kept as part of the original design, but a banner with the words In God We Trust was added.

The 1870 silver dollar coin reflects all of these design changes and modifications.

Value

The silver content of the 1870-s silver dollar coin comes in at 90% with a silver weight of 0.775 ounces. This represents a silver melt of around $15.52, making the 1870 silver dollar worth 15x its face value.

However, the value of the coin doesn’t stop there. A rough estimate of the coins numismatic value is said to be around $177,286. Further, an 1870 silver dollar that is in a certified mint state can be expected to fetch around $1,959,95 at auction. This makes it one of the most valuable silver dollar coins in United States history.

With extreme rarity comes extreme value. While silver dollar coins were minted in multiple locations between 1840 and 1873, very few coins from 1870 are available today. This is attributed, in part, to the fact that many of the coins were melted down to be repurposed coins of a smaller denomination. After the passage of the Coinage Act, these coins were not again seen until 1914, at the American Numismatic Society Exhibition.

Final Thoughts

With roughly ten still in existence, it should come as no surprise that the numismatic collector’s value of the 1870 silver dollar coin is incredibly high. In 2003, a verified coin in uncirculated condition sold for over $1 million. Even coins in less than stellar condition will likely exceed the six figure mark and, as time passes, can be expected to move beyond the 2003 auction price.

Fridays employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had been eagerly anticipated by the markets, especially after the previous weekends Federal Reserve Jackson Hole conference where Janet Yellen waved the banner of data dependency for guiding future Fed rate hikes.

Coming out of the Feds central bankers confab, expectations for a September rate hike had climbed higher, although there were more than enough doubts about the economy to temper the markets projections. The August jobs report was to be data dependencys big moment to tell the market if or when interest rates would rise this year.

What we got from the BLS last week was a softer jobs number than many had anticipated151,000 new jobs created in August, compared with expectations of around 180,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9% and hourly wages grew by 0.1%.

Not only did the August report undershoot expectations, it also represented a significant drop from the previous two months, when over 270,000 new jobs were created in both June and July.

The odds of a Federal Reserve September rate hike took an immediate hit after the release of the August report. As of Friday morning, the market saw around a 24% probability of the Fed hiking rates by a quarter-point at the September 21 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Odds of a Fed rate hike by the December 14 FOMC meeting were around 50% as of the close of business on Friday.

Gold prices spiked to as high as $1326/oz right after the jobs report was released, but were settling lower by mid-morning. Gold investors would prefer to see interest rates remain low for longer, and the underwhelming employment numbers would seem to bolster that case.

The August jobs report was not entirely disappointingit wasnt as bad as Mays shocking job growth figure of just 24,000 jobs created that month. A number under 100,000 for August would have been more distressing.

If anything, Augusts weaker-than-expected employment report brings some clarity to potential Federal Reserve moves in the near-term (as in September). But as for the longer termmeaning, through the end of this yearthe picture for Fed rate hikes remains muddy. That uncertainty should help keep gold prices elevated over the next few months.

The soft job-growth number for August may also indicate an even slower pace for Fed rate hikes going forward. Last December, when the Fed raised the Fed funds target rate for the first time since lowering to near-zero during the 2008 financial market crisis, Fed officials had projected four rate hikes throughout 2016. That pace of rate increases was said to be gradual at the time.

Now, we may only get one rate hike at all for 2016at the last possible Fed meeting for the year. This clearly is not the gradual pace that the Fed intended last year. As long as the economic climate remains murkysolid employment but tepid growth and below-target inflationliftoff for Fed rate hikes will likely be delayed further, much to the delight of the gold market.

As small business owners know and understand well, the labor market is getting tighter. It’s getting harder and harder to find qualified employees to fill open positions. This first-hand experience was confirmed by the U.S. Labor Department’s latest jobs report. In July, U.S. employers created a higher-than-expected 225,000 new jobs.

Shifting winds: This triggered another shift in expectations regarding when and if the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in 2016.

Just a few months ago: At the start of 2016, Fed Chair Janet Yellen and team were expected to hike rates gradually throughout the year with as many as three or four interest rate hikes forecast.

Boulders in the road: Early-year stock market volatility and concerns about Chinese growth, still-sluggish inflation levels in the U.S. and more recently the unexpected news from the U.K. to vote to leave the European Union widely known as Brexit have all splashed cold water on the Fed’s desire to “normalize” interest rates.

Gold prices initially softened on the better-than-expected employment news as it triggered speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve could tighten sooner rather than later.

But, here are three reasons gold investors don’t need to worry about Fed rate hikes.

The Fed’s benchmark interest rate called the federal funds rate — remains historically depressed well below normal.

The current fed funds rate stands at 0.25-0.50% –the central bank lifted the key rate off the zero-bound level in December 2017.

Even if the Fed were able to squeeze in one or two interest rate increases in 2016 it would still leave the federal funds rate well below the more historically normal 3.5-4.0% level.

History shows: Just look back at the federal funds rate level in 2005 prior to the global financial crisis that hit in 2008. The Fed funds rate ranged from a low at 2.50% to a high at 4.25%. The peak of that interest rate hiking cycle stood at 5.25% in June 2006. See Figure 1 below.

Why this matters: Even a marginal rate of increase in the funds rate in 2016 will keep interest rates at historically low levels in the United States.

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The Current Economic Expansion Phase in the U.S. Is Old

The U.S. economy moves in traditional expansion and recession cycles. That’s normal. As many business owners know first-hand, the current expansion phase never really hit full-speed.

Quick look-back: While the Great Recession ended in officially in June 2009, the current economic recovery phase has never hit so-called “trend” or historically average growth levels around the 3.5% level or higher on a sustained annualized basis. Instead the U.S. economy has been limping along with meager growth numbers well below the long-term historical averages.

Economics 101:The average length of a U.S. expansion cycle (trough to trough) is 69.5 months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (the arbiter of when recessions start and end in the U.S.). The U.S. economy is currently in its 86th month of “expansion.”

Key point: It’s long in the tooth. This current “expansion” cycle is running on fumes.

The current outlook: Wells Fargo Economics currently forecasts at 1.4% gross domestic product (GDP) reading in 2016 and the firm downgraded its outlook for 2017 to 1.9% from a previous 2.1%. It’s growth, but extremely sluggish by historical standards.

Why this matters: With the economy now in its seventh year of expansion, the odds are increasing that the next recession hits before the Fed has a chance to normalize interest rates back toward the 3.50-4.0% level.

This is gold-bullish and will keep monetary policy soft and negative interest rates in play as a possibility for the U.S. in the future.

Investment Demand For Gold Is Soaring.

Record investment demand was seen for gold in the first half of 2016, according to latest World Gold Council figures. See Figure 2 below.

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Gold demand numbers: Global gold demand reached 2,335 tonnes (t) in the first half of 2016 with investment reaching record H1 levels, 16% higher than the previous record in H1 2009, according to the World Gold Councils latest Gold Demand Trends report.

The strength of this quarters demand means that the first half of 2016 has been the second highest for gold on record, weighing in at 2,335t. The global picture for gold is dominated by considerable and continued investment demand driven by the West as investors rebalance their investments in response to the ever-expanding pool of negative yielding governmentbonds and heightened political and economic uncertainty,” says Alistair Hewitt, head of market intelligence at the World Gold Council.

“The foundations for this demand are strong and diverse, drawing on a broad spectrum of investors accessing gold via a range of products, with gold-backed ETFs and bars and coins performing particularly strongly,” Hewitt adds.

Diversify With Gold

Diversification is key to any successful portfolio. Individual investors who seek to diversify their portfolio can look to physical gold investment as a beneficial portfolio diversifier. The argument for diversification is to hold a variety of assets that are non-correlated to lower overall risk. Over the past 10 years, the average correlation of gold to the U.S. stock market has been close to zero, according to World Gold Council research[KB1][KB2].

Along with its traditional draw as a safe-haven investment, a vehicle to store and grow wealth, and an inflation hedge, gold has proven to be an excellent portfolio diversifier.

Why that matters: When stock prices fall sharply, gold has shown a tendency to rise.

Early in 2016 revealed an example of that phenomena. The numbers: Stocks down, gold investments up — The S&P 500 tumbled 5.5% lower through February 29, and gold stocks (a subsector of materials in the S&P 500) soared 43.6% in the same time period, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Gold Buying Strategy

Many gold investors use a dollar-cost averaging strategy, or allocate a set dollar amount to gold purchases each month. It’s easy to get started buying gold coins. Learn more here.

Tip: Savvy gold buyers can fine-tune a dollar-cost averaging strategy to buy on price retreats.

Bottom line: The overall uptrend in gold remains positive. Gold dips have been used as buying opportunities all year, as physical buyers around the globe continue to build positions in the yellow metal. Savvy investors buy on price retreats.

Talk to the experts:Blanchardhas helped more than 450,000 investors with expert consultation in the acquisition of bullion. Contact us here.