The Secrets of Investing In Gold With Stephen Flood #MakingBank #S7E05

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Stephen Flood. Stephen is the CEO of GoldCore — one of the oldest gold and silver dealers in the market. While originally from Ireland, he used to work in financial and trading positions in New York before joining Goldman Sachs as a sales trader in equity derivatives. Upon returning to Ireland, he used his experience of trading risk and financial markets from Goldman Sachs to establish his own financial services firm at GoldCore, where they advise clients on gold and silver purchasing and storage. Today, he has turned over 1 billion in transactions and manages over 300 million in assets for his clients.

This week on the podcast, Stephen talks about how he moved from Wall Street and started his company. He also talks about the current state of the gold market and gives tips on why and how you should invest in gold and silver.

Listen to Josh and Stephen discuss investing in gold:

(1:46) Stephen's Story
Stephen started out working in the financial services industry in New York. He worked in financial technology and learned how to manage data and risks. Eventually, he'd move to Goldman Sachs and work in equity derivatives for program trading. When Stephen got married, he moved back to Ireland away from Wall Street, and that's when he got introduced to GoldCore. After 16 years of running GoldCore, his close friend Mark exited the company, and Stephen became the CEO in 2020.

(6:23) Managing Assets Around The World
Through GoldCore, Stephen manages over 300 million worth of assets. Many of his clients need to move their assets around, and GoldCore takes care of that. Stephen gives the example of how he had to move some of his clients' assets out of Hong Kong due to the unrest there. GoldCore can move its clients' assets effectively because everyone's gold is stored separately. So if someone needs to mobilize their assets, the gold is ready to go.

(10:50) Why Should You Invest In Gold And Silver
As opposed to stocks and crypto, Stephen says gold isn't an investment in the traditional sense. He believes that gold and silver are more of financial insurance. Gold is a rare commodity that will rise in value over the years. Gold should be seen as the ultimate form of money because it will always be exchangeable no matter where you are in the world. It's not connected to the economic system, and it has no liabilities, and that's what makes it valuable.

(15:34) Is It A Good Time To Invest In Gold
When it comes to investing, generally, silver is a lot more volatile than gold. Stephen talks about the current state of the market and how that affects gold. He talks about things from the perspective of an investor. The way some investors see gold is that it's an asset that costs money to store. Whereas money has a useful function in the economy, and you can earn from interest on cash. People generally buy gold as a safe haven asset when the economy starts declining. While gold gets cheaper and more people start looking for safe-haven investments, it predicts that a higher demand cycle will be approaching.

(20:49) The Best Investment
Stephen believes that the best investment you can make is education. You have to be constantly learning. Making easy money is extremely rare, so don't live hoping to get rich quickly. Educate yourself on humility, handling your employees, running a company, diversifying your wealth, and most importantly, treating your customers right. You have to run a customer-focused business in order to succeed.

(23:40) Reason For GoldCore's Success
The way Stephen has managed to be successful for over 18 years is through simplifying things. There's a very flat management system at GoldCore, where everything is communicated effectively, and all processes are transparent. Team culture is a priority — where everyone is heard and treated with the same importance. Apart from the team's culture, effective and meaningful branding is key to your success, as well as having the financial power to execute your plans.

Links mentioned:
Goldcore.com
Twitter: stephen_flood
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stephen-flood-544905/