VIDEO - Chris Blasi: All That’s Left Outside the System is Physical Metals

Precious metals can be appealing to investors for a variety of reasons, one of which is their position as a store of value that remains outside mainstream financial systems. 

Chris Blasi, president of Neptune Global Holdings, believes proposed US legislation could make it even more important for market participants to consider adding physical precious metals to their portfolios.

He’s concerned about the Responsibly Funding Our Priorities Act, which if passed will go into effect on December 31 of this year. According to Blasi, it would cause major problems for self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs) — namely, it would prohibit IRA investments that are conditioned on factors such as whether the account holder has a minimum level of assets or income.

Blasi explained that many individuals gain access to the real estate market via IRAs and private placements, but if this legislation goes through they will have to unwind their positions within two years.

“This could force countless hundreds of thousands of small real estate investors to unwind positions,” he explained, emphasizing that smaller and mid-size investors would be impacted the most.

“What this to me also shows is it’s really another supporting piece of evidence to validate being in the metals,” he told the Investing News Network in an interview.

“Now with this sort of scrutiny going after the real estate world for the small investor … the physical metals are the only thing that’s really sitting outside the system since it’s not securitized, it doesn’t fall under the same rules and regulations or … (the) counterparty risk of anything that is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the exchanges. It is really the last bastion of honest private investment.”

Looking at where the precious metals space is at today, Blasi said he understands frustrated investors who believe prices should be higher, especially for gold.

“When these markets do pivot, and they will at some point, the metals are the only (asset class that is) undervalued — the others are all overvalued. All I can say is I honestly believe … they aren’t performing well, they should be far higher, (and) they will be at some point when these markets flip.”

Watch the video above for more from Blasi on precious metals, as well as his thoughts on the Responsibly Funding Our Priorities Act.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.