For private investors large and small, as well as institutions, precious metals are, and continue to be the safe haven for investors in turbulent financial and uncertain national and geo-political times. “Nationally and globally speaking, the markets have never been more ripe or primed for investors seeking a safe place for their money that supports a historical track record of steady and significant returns in both the near and long term,” says James Burbage, III, President of Lloyds Asset Management, a precious metals broker/dealer in Jupiter, Florida, “and silver is particularly positioned to make a positive move.” “At this point, silver is a sleeping giant,” says Burbage. “The market has created one of the biggest buying opportunities ever witnessed by most savvy precious metals investors.” As evidence, Burbage points to July 16 when silver was tickling 21-year highs of $19.48/oz. “Now more than ever before in history the time is right to prosper from silver, which provides excellent portfolio protection from failing ‘paper assets,'” says Burbage.

According to Burgabe a close look at the past few months explains the retracement of silver to its present approximate $11 position. As the stock market began to tumble due to the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, triggering the frightening and immediate unfathomable bailout of AIG and the closing of the goliath financial services institution, Lehman Brothers as well as a handful of enormous commercial banks around the US, investors were forced to sell off assets to cover margin calls. The sell-off included silver positions, where great stores of cash could be tapped to cover margin calls. With the dumping of silver on the market, the price of silver dropped.

Yesterday he said: “Precious metals are steady to a shade higher this morning after last Friday’s margin-induced sell off. There was a buzz on the trading floor that a couple of unnamed hedge funds were forced to liquidate massive positions in precious metals in a scramble to meet margin calls for deteriorated stock positions. The Euro snapped back over the weekend after the European Finance Minister announced that Europe has agreed to a history making bail out bill for their ailing financial institutions which rivals that in the US. The Euro jumped to $1.51 and the US dollar to $1.38.”

Other indicators for the presumptive rise in silver can be seen in the industrial market and the need for the use of silver by large corporations. As an example, Burbage points to multinational conglomerates such as Kodak and LG electronics that have long positions in silver as a necessity for its use in the production of their commercial consumer products.

Now that the silver market has stabilised at around the $11 mark, investors have a rare opportunity to jump back in on this historically valuable asset, especially now that the stock market has seen a radical upswing in just the past week. Burbage sees silver poised to make a run to $16 and possibly as high as $24 by the end of the first quarter ’09.