The secret to investment success is to know your opportunity

The secret to investment success is to know your opportunity…

… and to seize it of course.

As the undisputed experts in our field (and we hold the Royal Warrant to prove it), you could consider us the expert 'stock pickers' if you like.

We're good at spotting an opportunity and seizing upon it – as our founder did 157 years ago when he saw a gap in the market and built an extraordinary and successful business on the back of it.

Now you have a chance to take advantage of his foresight, to protect and grow a part of your wealth.

It may sound unlikely, but the 'stock picks' I'm talking about are rare, investment-grade stamps – from Stanley Gibbons, the global market leader.

Think about it – I'm talking about rarities, antiquities, little pieces of sought-after history that marked a communication revolution back in the day (1840 actually). They may not be as intrinsically aspirational, but rare stamps have similar qualities to fine wine (it's the wines from the right vintage and from the premier vineyards that are in demand and can't be reproduced) - and you certainly can't print any more mint penny blacks or two-penny blues…

That's why our Bloomberg-listed index, the GB250, which tracks the value of investment-grade British stamps and provides a strong snapshot of the market, has shown a compound annual growth rate of 13.2% over the last 12 years and not dropped in that time - despite what's been happening in world markets.

In 2008/09, the GB250 Index rose 32%, when stocks, shares and house prices plummeted – fundamentally, because the rare stamp market is largely uncorrelated with mainstream asset classes.

This makes it potentially a strong diversification option for your portfolio – and why we've seen an ever-increasing number of investors and wealth managers (more than 21,000 to date) reviewing whether a rare stamp portfolio's right for them or for their clients.

Find out more with your free guide to investing in rare stamps

We don't suggest you shift your entire portfolio into rare stamps, of course not. But as a potential anchor or safe haven for part of it, doesn't it make a lot of sense?

And if you're still questioning rare stamps as a viable, alternative asset class, don't take my word for it.

Instead, take note of the deeds of one of the world's wealthiest men and most successful investors, Bill Gross of Pimco, the 'Bond King'. He is not only one of the great stamp collectors of modern times, but a hugely successful rare stamp investor.

Spurred on by his mother's attempts to pay for his education by buying and selling stamps, he employed the same methodology that brought him great gains in the bond market to rare stamps, picking expertly and deliberately. In 2009, he sold his Great Britain collection at auction in New York for USD$10 Million, that's 4 times more than he bought it for. "It's four times profit, it's better than the stock market!" he said.

I've spent the last four years listening and talking to investors and presenting at investment conferences from Sao Paulo to Singapore to St Helier. There has been a constant theme – the volatility and continued uncertainty of world markets. The crash of 2008 seems less a 'black swan' event than the beginning of a parade of black cygnets, one after the other causing ripples.

To get an insight into this market as a potential safe haven investment for you, start with your free guide. Just click on the link below.

Rare stamps could end up being the best investment you've never heard of.

Get your free guide

My very best wishes,

Keith Heddle

Group Investment Director, Stanley Gibbons Ltd.

London – Jersey – Hong Kong – Singapore

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