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Tell Me Why gold is the smartest wealth preservation tool
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During periods of market volatility, inflation and geopolitical turbulence, gold is the only true store of value, says OGold's Dr Fahmi Iskander.
When it comes to gold, it's a natural insurance policy. There is a natural level of mental and emotional comfort and trust that you have something in hand. Of course, what we have done at All Gold is provide that exact model, but without you necessarily having to keep it at home or put it under the pillow. With us at Allgold, this is exactly what we afford our customers is that you always have ownership of your gold. You always have access to your gold. And not just that, but you can also spend directly from it, for example, through our OGold Platinum MasterCard, which means you don't have to take something to sell it or liquidate in order to be able to spend from it. No, you now have direct access to it. And on top of that, there are different features where now you're able to also uh capitalize on your gold uh to create more more more income.
SPEAKER_00So we tried to kind of all these tests are retired because it's the other thing. Now, today we live in a world that is shaped by the rising cost of living. Everyone is talking about it across every country, inflation and economic uncertainty. And more and more people are beginning to rethink just how they will protect their money and preserve their long-term wealth. For centuries, gold has been viewed as perhaps the safest and most trusted financial asset on earth. But traditionally, investing in gold has often felt complicated to a lot of people, maybe inaccessible, or something that many people feel is just for the wealthy. So, what happens when technology is able to change all that? Well, joining me today on the couch is Dr. Farmy Iskanda, the partner and chief investment officer at OGL. It's a pioneering fintech platform and gold-backed super app that's helping transform the precious metal from what was a traditional store of value into an accessible, digital, everyday financial tool. And in today's episode, we'll explore why gold continues to matter in today's economy, how digital innovation is reshaping the way we invest everyday and spend gold, and why OGold believes wealth preservation should be within everyone's reach. I think this is going to be a good chart. Dr. Farmy, thank you very much for joining us here on Tell Me Why. Great to have you in.
SPEAKER_01It's a pleasure, Kitch.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for having me. First of all, the history of gold, it's remained valuable for more than 5,000 years. While currencies and financial systems have constantly changed, why has gold always remained valuable?
SPEAKER_01Well, Kitsch, um, gold is the only asset in human history that has survived every currency, every crisis. Um along the way, uh, it has survived empires. So it's the one thing that will remain way after you and I are gone. Um, so you this is why it's the only asset that you can call a true store of value. For us, um, I think understanding that, albeit perhaps a little bit too late in the day for many investors and the average person, uh but as they say, better late than never to realize um what today is the only remaining true store of value, which is pure gold.
SPEAKER_00How much of that is a financial model, and how much do you think of that there's an element of romance, you know, when it comes to looking to invest in gold? It was said that uh Baymans are a girl's best friend.
SPEAKER_01Um that's actually a lie now. Um it really is gold. Um, you know, and and uh I think uh not just not just us uh uh uh uh uh as men understanding the value of investments, but more importantly, women who understand the longevity uh uh of of uh securing investments are turning more and more into gold. Um I think um today we we uh you know we we see many uh podcasts online. One of the things I love uh that I heard uh Robert Kiyosaki say is that uh gold is God's money. Um and it's the only thing that started as value originally and remains value today. So um, you know, I think today uh if you if you want to be romantic and you want to gift some diamonds, you know, you you might be better off gifting gold.
SPEAKER_00You've worked in investment markets across Europe and Africa for nearly two decades, and that's exposed you to different cultures and and different beliefs and different behaviors. What has that taught you over those two decades about the way people behave when they trade gold and their behaviors towards gold in uncertain times economically?
SPEAKER_01I think, you know, Kitsch, in uncertain times, people always return to real assets, tangible assets. And of course, gold and silver um uh uh you know are two of the main assets that can be given that name in terms of store of value. We can say that markets move on emotion, but um when it comes to uh uh uh gold and silver uh and and these kind of tangible assets, they move on trust. Um some cultures and some nations have more of an understanding of that than than many others. Um, you know, you find, for example, in um in India, um gold is a is a part of everyday life, it's a part of tradition, it's a part of uh uh even the tradition of marriage and dowries, and so uh and and and there's a lot of that also in the Arab world, in the Middle East and in some parts of the Mediterranean. And so um I think over time um people realize that uh in order to protect family wealth, in order to protect legacy, they need to return to the real tangible assets. And of course, gold will always be uh uh uh the ultimate the ultimate safety net.
SPEAKER_00When you're looking at the way central banks work with gold, I know many central banks are buying gold in record amounts. What is it you think that they understand about the wealth and the value of gold that perhaps more traditional traders and investors overlook?
SPEAKER_01Central banks understand one simple truth. Gold doesn't carry a counterpart risk. So for central banks, the most powerful insurance policy is physical gold. And this is why historically, well, up until 1971, before uh President Nixon uh scrapped the gold standard, um you could imprint money and they'll say it was backed by gold. Um so so central banks, uh even though they've moved away from the from uh the gold standard, but they're actually coming back to it uh in a very powerful way. Not that they've ever truly uh uh uh sort of deviated from it. Finance and and and the the um different countries' economies uh uh operate in such a convoluted way sometimes that you need to make things work in order to keep economies running and keep a country propped up. Um but central banks specifically um and historically have always understood the value of gold. They will always come back to it no matter what. And this is why it's important for us to teach and educate our customers, our clients, uh our friends, our families, uh what central banks are doing. Why shouldn't we be doing the same? We should be doing the same thing the central banks are doing. Um but of course perhaps the banks don't want you to really know that.
SPEAKER_00And how much of that do you think is because that gold is something that is tangible, you can hold it? It's not like it's something that's kept in a um uh you know a crypto wallet somewhere. This is something that that you can touch, you can feel, uh, that you can if you have it, you can melt it down, and it's still gonna um maintain its value. Are they all those core elements that uh are still making gold to be such an attractive investment?
SPEAKER_01Without a doubt, without a doubt. Um, you know, uh seeing is believing um until AI came into operation. But um uh it will always be a matter of um trust. When it comes to gold, um it's uh it's a natural insurance policy. There is a natural level of uh uh mental and emotional comfort uh and and trust that you have something in hand. Um of course um what we have done uh at all gold is provide it that exact model, but without you necessarily having to keep it at home or put it under the pillow. With us at Allgold, this is exactly uh what we afford our customers is that you you always have uh um ownership of your gold. You always have access to your gold. Um and not just that, but you can also uh spend directly from it, for example, uh uh uh through our umgold uh Platinum MasterCard, uh, which means you don't have to take something to sell it or liquidate in order to be able to spend from it. No, you now have direct access to it. Um and uh and on top of that, there there are uh uh different features where now you're able to also uh capitalize on your gold uh to create more more more income.
SPEAKER_00You were mentioning that about OGL, that now it's accessible to people to invest in gold. You no longer need to feel like I haven't got the watch and the fancy car, you know, I'm not I'm not that person that's not ready for gold yet. OGold is allowing users to begin investing with just one deer. And I think that's incredible. But how important was accessibility when you're building this platform, but also changing perceptions? Because of a lot of people that have got in their head that I need to be really wealthy to invest in gold, and you're trying to change that perception, but no, you can just start with one DRAM.
SPEAKER_01Well, first of all, Kitsch, look, um, you know, wealth uh preservation should not be a luxury product where only a certain segment has access to it. This is the first thing. At all gold, we wanted to make gold um simple, um easy to understand and accessible. And thirdly, if you can start, for example, investing with just one euro um who has access to one euro everybody has access to one. And this is the point where physical gold, 24 karat 999 purity gold, becomes accessible to everybody. And this was one of the core principles of our company is that why shouldn't everybody have access to it? Why shouldn't everybody be able to benefit from it? Because I I tell you honestly, what we're doing is not just disruptive and you know industry leading and all of these wonderful uh uh fancy industry where it's it sounds like you're coming from a place of passion as well. 100%. We are so committed to to not just to teach and educate, but to change the mindset of the everyday person. And for them to understand that that the ultimate store of value is accessible and it's yours, and you don't have to have a huge amount of money to have access to it. With all of the securities and the guarantees in place, what we have done uh, and of course, very proudly, having started this here in the UAE, um, we have been able to show the world uh uh exactly uh not just what O Gold is capable of doing, what the UAE is capable of doing. You know, um we're very proud to to uh uh to be uh a homegrown brand that is now exporting worldwide. Um and and and our Grober Reach uh uh is now uh going very fast, uh, you know, having spanged into into into Hong Kong, into Egypt, uh uh uh and other countries. So it's something that we're very passionate about and we believe in very strongly.
SPEAKER_00When you're looking at people that are doing that, those small investments, how much is it changing their lives knowing that they're able to take control of their financial security and their financial future? Because that's that's a severe cultural change of someone who may not have a lot of money, they've been told work hard, save save hard, put your money away. And now they're coming with an opportunity that you're presenting them with O-gold to take control of their financial future. That's an amazing achievement.
SPEAKER_01Well, something very important to mention is that the behavior of gold uh recently has not just been a sort of uh uh a lazy upward uh uh crawl in in um uh appreciation of asset. We've seen some huge jumps uh take place. And luckily uh we're now into into our our our third year uh um um of operation and we we are um seeing people um benefiting tremendously from uh uh benefiting tremendously from the the appreciation of gold uh globally. Uh and in in and of course, in some cases, uh people have doubled their money. Uh yes, we understand that these kind of jumps might not be the norm, but um it's it's making people um think more and more about what is a safe place to invest. Of course, there is no such thing as zero risk in life at all, you know, because you can get out of bed and fall over and and you know and and and crack a rib. But at least when it comes to investments, um you know I've said this previously in previous in previous uh uh uh um uh presentations and and talks and interviews and podcasts. Uh when it comes to things like crypto, uh cryptocurrency, or people dealing, for example, with uh um um you know um digital currency, if you people have made money, if you know what you're doing, yes, you can make money. Um if you don't know what you're doing, you'll make huge losses. Um and even the people who do know what they're doing also make huge losses. But when it comes to gold, there's a there's a safety, a warmth, a security. You can't go wrong with it.
SPEAKER_00Dr. Farmi, one of the things I wanted to ask about was this term lazy gold. And one of the things that you're doing at OG is transforming it from lazy gold essentially into an active financial asset. In practical terms, what does that really mean?
SPEAKER_01Traditionally, um gold pretty much just sat uh uh uh in a vault doing nothing. And what we wanted to do instead is to um um we wanted people to to be able to uh to spend from it, to save uh uh uh uh on it, and also to um have instant access uh uh more importantly to that asset at all times. Um so which means that it was a matter of uh um creating a complete ecosystem where people's gold is working for them, um is um uh an everyday uh an everyday accessible tool. Um and I think um we have succeeded in this tremendously so far, uh uh having top 1.2 million customers. Wow. Uh who where where you know our ecosystem has resonated with them. Um there is a lot of value uh in the accessibility uh um uh of people to their gold through the the uh uh our all gold uh platinum MasterCard. Um it's the first gold-packed uh uh Mastercard. Um and and of course, the the um huge amount of uh benefits and features that they get on the card, it's not just having access to your goal. Um we are, you know, we're we're a young, vibrant company, and so um, you know, we believe in keeping things fresh, we believe in engaging with our younger uh uh uh customers and our younger audience. And so there are always um, you know, sort of weird and wonderful, fascinating things happening in the app on almost on a daily basis. That's kind of making people, you know, of course, our spin and win is one of the one of the big things, and I really suggest, you know, if you download the app just for that, that will be one of the one of the one of the fun things that you can do on a daily basis. I uh I digress a little bit. You know, we have hundreds of thousands of people uh uh waking up every day and between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., hundreds of thousands of people waking up and just doing the spin and win.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well pause pause it there because I want to know more about uh the the smartphone app uh that you have. Because one of the things that you've done at OGold is obviously allowed this accessibility, not just the spin and win, uh, but it allows users to kind of spend, uh, save and earn through spin and win. Talk me through some of the your favorite details about the smartphone apps.
SPEAKER_01So um so uh, you know, um for for us, we are, yes, OGold is a digital app, but the product is physical. It exists. Every single gram that the customer owns has a corresponding physical gram sitting in uh uh a refinery um here in the UAE. And uh we deal with some of the top refineries in the country who are all fully licensed, of course, by the DMCC and uh uh fully insured um with insurance policies underwritten by Laws of London, which is very important to us. Um we also hold a wrap-up insurance policy for our customers' um assets. We have something called uh Wikala, and uh where people uh instead of having their gold sitting idle um in the vault, uh, through Wicala and there is uh uh an investment option. They can earn uh more gold on their gold, uh, between four to five percent annually. Um of course we are in partnership with uh uh companies who provide these kind of services. One of them is uh Monetary Metals, um, which is uh a company based in the USA. And um uh this is a company that provides gold to jewelers. So it means that our client's gold um doesn't need to just sit there. The client can um opt in to uh into this uh Wikala feature where their goal starts working for them. They earn gold on their gold and it is received monthly, paid in gold as well.
SPEAKER_00Like a compounding interest?
SPEAKER_01Um it's uh it's uh it's an actual, it's not it's not interest. Um you know it's a it's a it's a process where we're kind of in partnership with our customers. Um they their work, their their gold is now working for them. Um we facilitate the feature through the Wikala option in in the application. Um there is no lock-in period, you know, they can opt in today and opt out tomorrow if they so wish. But at the end of the day, um, you know, if you are going to have a gold asset, why not benefit from it? Why not earn from it? It's it's kind of a little bit like owning a rental property that you leave empty. Um it it's uh at best, it might appreciate in value, and gold does that, real estate does that. Um but ideally you want to be able to rent it, you know, have some tenants who will pay you uh uh uh an income on this investment property. With uh with gold, this is the kind of feature um that we have applied. So we've kind of applied the real estate model onto your gold asset. So now you're able to have your gold instead of it sitting there idle or as an empty an empty space in a vault, um, you're able to uh through the kawish and and yeah, through the wakala feature and get returns on it. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Um You've mentioned a few times one of the things that people like investing in gold is the trust element. They trust the commodity. Um but when it comes to investing in in sort of any sort of financial asset, there's got to be that transparency. People want security, uh, they want confidence. What is it about O-Gold that you think ensures that it's audited, and of course, you know, the physical gold stores here in the UAE remain in the vaults?
SPEAKER_01Apart from us um, you know, being very privileged uh um uh to be working in the region, to be working in a place like Dubai uh uh uh in the UAE, where where uh you know this kind of system is is um heavily secured and backed up by the government itself. Trust in finance and and and trust when it comes to their um um investments must always be verifiable, not just assumed. And so and so um this is this is this is why um the level of trust that our clients have in in the All Gold app and in the ecosystem that we have created um speaks for itself. Yeah. Um as I say, you know, it's uh it's uh when you when you're growing at nearly a hundred thousand clients per month, um, you must be doing something right.
SPEAKER_00I I I agree with you. That's a tremendous credit to you to get that many new customers each month. And one of the things that we know about the UAE, it really is becoming a global hub when people are looking at it investing in starting up FinTech. But when it comes to Sharia compliance, I guess that's one of the key elements of the platform. It's important because um customers are wanting that ethical and the transparency available to them. Why is that becoming so much more important for investors when they're looking to invest?
SPEAKER_01You know, uh Kitch, m modern investors um don't necessarily only care about returns. Um they also care about where um um um they also care about transparency of course uh and they also care about ethics and where their money is being invested and where those returns uh are coming from when something is um is uh asset backed you understand that the uh that the value is not just ethical because we're telling you that it exists because you you can ask for it to be delivered in 24 hours and it will be delivered so it's not just words no it's it's it's it's real it's physical it exists so there is a certain degree uh um that that that the ethics being applied to your investment um are are right I don't want to say righteous but they're right they're correct uh they're clean um and and um nobody is going to suffer or be harmed along the way with a single penny or a single gram that you have invested because in the world of finance um we invest but we don't always know where the returns of our investments are necessarily coming from. With us being a Sharia compliant company uh we take this extremely seriously um you could say it's almost the single most serious thing that we do in our business. Um a lot of people trust us to know that their investments and the returns on their investments are coming from a wholesome, good and clean place. Ethical finance is becoming the mainstream and not and not the exception.
SPEAKER_00Yeah I think I think more and more companies particularly are looking for that that CSR that that corporate responsibility the social responsibility to understand that just making money isn't always the end goal. It's making it with the uh the right ethics and the right conscience.
SPEAKER_01Well you know uh at Orgold one of one of the things that we've we've you know we we we've coined is is uh um is CMR uh which is corporate moral responsibility um and I think um more and more companies um are starting to do this and and and those who haven't yet should um because as I say we we um we we live and work um in a uh in an era where it is it is so easy for uh our pure efforts to get tainted if we're not careful. And and and again as I say I I reiterate and I repeat that our clients' investments uh uh and the returns on their investments when it comes to the all gold app um I can guarantee they are 1000% um ethical and come from a right place.
SPEAKER_00How hard has it been to maybe try and convince people who have had the wrong idea about gold?
SPEAKER_01Well you know Kitsch you know how they say it's so much easier to uh paint on a blank canvas than it is to wipe an old canvas clean and start again you're doing twice the work we are having to um I could say undo a lot of the brainwashing um that has been happening to the average everyday person over the years um you know in the in the in the finance industry in the banking industry um we have all historically believed that the safest place for your money is the under the bed in the bank in the bank yeah right now that is that the today we we we realize you know that that of course this is not the case um you know um all over Europe for example more and more people are now uh coming online talking about the fine details and the fine print um of where your money is safe or not safe and um the the the the banks for example uh in in europe will guarantee your uh money uh which you're having which you have in the bank up to a maximum of something like 85,000 pounds or euros or something on this it's less than 100 grand you know just just just for for for argument's sake. So if you do have two, three, four hundred thousand in there and something God forbid happens and and banks are known to go down and then those figures on a screen those numbers on the screen that that uh supposedly correspond to your money are not necessarily safe. However, believe it or not people still believe that this is safer than gold that this is safer than than than the real asset. Now ironically the bank where you keep your money buys gold so go figure.
SPEAKER_00It's you know it's I guess the the old saying was often don't have your money in the bank invest in the bank you know that that's one of the old sayings.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely and so um trying to um uh you know re-educate and and and and re-enlighten uh people uh that that going back to basics um and going back to the original money um is the best option um is one thing creating the ecosystem for it was another but then um the third uh thing that was problematic to convince people to uh not necessarily come away from traditional banking but to convince people uh as to why putting their money in physical gold and silver um i i is is the wisest thing to do is that um they initially don't know who you are um because you know the the saying birds of a feather flock together if people see just all gold flying solo they can't easily trust you because they don't know who else you're working with over time um your customers and clients and their friends and and their family start to see that Ogold is not a solo operator. No Ogold has partnerships um with big governmental entities Ogold is in partnership and operational within one of the biggest institutions in the UAE like Emirates Post uh Ogold is now operational on one of the uh biggest calling apps uh in the region on Botem for example where uh uh gold is now also um operating with MasterCard where now and so on and so forth so it's that concept of birds of a feather flock together all of these entities would not be in business with all gold um especially some of the oldest uh and biggest names uh uh in in refineries in the UAE like Sam Precious Metals and Emirates Gold um and and and some of the biggest finance houses for example like Mavariat Finance who provide our uh Mastercard people start to understand oh hold on a second this is this is not just a tremendous ecosystem an amazing application they're working with some of the biggest names in the region so the vetting has already been done for you you know the background checks have already been done for you on Allgold you know you can you can jump in happily and comfortably knowing that every single investment you do uh uh with all gold is 100% secure looking at the next generation that are coming through if you take an investor just coming out of university perhaps uh unlike previous generations there is so much information that is readily available to them on on trading and how to trade that that's never happened before for for people of that you know that young generation coming through are they thinking differently about how to invest are they thinking differently about their money and traditional long-term banking or their financial security the younger generation are very smart very savvy um they want uh real ownership real transparency and real control over their investments um they are a lot more um um informed than we were uh and even more informed more informed than our parents were so um they they they the younger generation don't do what we used to do and and jump in blindly with blind trust into uh uh traditional institutions um so um you know with with um with everything that's happening now in in in the world of of of precious metal um and in the world of crypto uh currencies and so on younger people are um i I think this generation is probably one of one of one of the smartest cleverest most informed most educated when it comes to finance because of course they they have a lot more access to information instantly um you know than than than some of us used to have or or our parents used to have um but this idea of of uh uh uh you know blind trust and just go in and put your money no that's no longer the case they will fare much better I think this generation will fare much better um than we did um in the past and and and and certainly um uh if they adopt the idea of diversifying their their uh investments and on that do you think that's perhaps because not just the access of technology you've you've got a a generation that are coming through that have got access to stocks and shares or trading with O-gold every second of the day.
SPEAKER_00But do you think it's because the job market has changed that people are now thinking much more about you know their own retirement savings rather than I get a job for 30 years, I work for one company and then there's a retirement pension at the end. Everyone's now having to more think about their own selves as a personal brand and a freelancer.
SPEAKER_01There are no guarantees in anything uh certainly uh there are job security uh as as as the term used to be no longer exists um even more so now with the onset of uh artificial intelligence um making um more and more jobs obsolete um and uh you know recently um one of one of the one of the uh top visionaries uh uh uh business and businessmen here in the UAE uh said something very interesting. He said that um they haven't had any hiring for three years for the past three years. They haven't hired anybody and the productivity has increased by 150%. So um you know um this is one of the things that that uh not just young people but even parents who are just about thinking of having children are having to think of what will my child do? What kind of job will they have? Will there be a job eventually for them you know or will or or will they all have to uh study uh you know um artificial intelligence to be able to do that and and by the time by the time these these these young young gener you know this young generation at the age of say 10 or 11 or 12 or 14 and 16 um within the next 10 years um there will be even um less for them to do that makes it even more dangerous for the for the really really young ones because by the time they have reached a working age the artificial intelligence is creating more artificial intelligence and so what will they do? It's gonna cover it's something's gonna give um so um but in all of that the one thing that we believe will always remain constant is the basics is the original and when it comes to money gold is the original money.
SPEAKER_00Well stop you there because the last question I want to ask you Dr. Farmi is why tell me why gold still remains the smartest wealth preservation tool in today's economy and why you think right now is the time for people to pay attention to gold in their investment portfolio.
SPEAKER_01I tell you why Kitch because we have um an amazing monster called inflation which erodes paper money um like putting tissue paper into water um no historically gold is the only true store of value and the only asset the only single asset that protects against inflation um silver of course is is is another precious metal that people look at now but when it comes to long term stability assurance mental and emotional comfort gold will always be the the the home run it will always be the home ground I think when it comes to preserving purchasing power you cannot rely on paper money. This we now know I also think with economies being more and more uncertain not even mentioning of course the the the the the effects of of of geopolitical tensions and wars etc um but just she is spending heavy spending by countries which is causing extreme inflation will always bring you back to the need for one certainty. And that one certainty can only be provided by one thing and that is pure gold. And this is where all gold comes into play.
SPEAKER_00Well Dr. Farmiascander this has been a fascinating chat talking about not only just your success uh with OGOD as both a partner and the chief investment officer but more about the future around fintech the future of trading and also why gold continues to be sort of the ultimate wealth preservation tool. Thank you very much for joining us here on Golf News and tell me why it's a pleasure thank you so much for having me. My thanks once again to Dr Farmi Iskander the partner and chief investment officer at OGold and we thank him for sharing his insights today here on Golf News Tell Me Why about why gold continues to play such an important role in preserving wealth.com forward slash podcasts.