Thinking of adding palladium to my precious metals portfolio - anybody else holding it?

Hey, totally get where you're coming from! I actually did add some palladium to my physical metals a couple of years back for pretty much the same reasons – supply chain stuff and the EV demand. It’s a small portion of my overall portfolio, but it felt like a good diversifier given its industrial uses. No regrets so far, it’s been interesting to watch!

Interesting! You mentioned supply chain issues and the EV push as reasons for looking into palladium. Are you specifically thinking about its use in catalytic converters, or are there other industrial applications that are making you consider it?

Honestly, while the chatter is definitely there, I'm a bit hesitant on palladium right now. It's had some wild swings, and while the EV push is real, the future of catalytic converters (a huge demand driver) isn't as clear-cut as it used to be with the shift to electric. Gold and silver feel a lot more like a long-term, stable hedge to me. Just my two cents!

Palladium, eh? Interesting. I actually briefly dabbled in palladium back in 2017-2018 when it was really making headlines. Had about 15% of my non-IRA metals portfolio in it, around $40k worth at the time. Honestly, it felt a lot more opaque than gold or even silver. Tracking its industrial demand felt like reading tea leaves, especially with the auto industry's ups and downs. I ended up converting it all back into physical gold a couple of years later when the gold spot price started climbing more steadily. The volatility was just a bit too much for my comfort, even for the diversified portion of my portfolio. Stick with what you understand, right? For me, that's undeniably gold. My Gold IRA here in Lexington is still 90% gold, 10% silver, and I sleep a lot better at night.

Palladium's an interesting one, for sure. I dipped my toes in during the 2020 run-up, had a decent chunk of JM Bullion bars by 2021, and watched it surge. Ended up taking some profit at the higher end, converting a good portion into more physical gold for my Gold IRA here in KC when palladium started showing those cracks. Wish I'd gotten in earlier, but lesson learned. It's not a set-it-and-forget-it like gold can be.

My Roth IRA is primarily gold, but I dipped my toes into palladium a couple years back when the price was flirting with $1800/oz. Ended up selling at $2600/oz and rolled the profits back into more gold. I used *Global Palladium Market Review* from Johnson Matthey to track the supply/demand side of things – gave me a good feel for the industrial appetite. Seems tough to find palladium at decent premiums in Minneapolis these days, though.