Dr. Murphy, I am uncomfortable with the idea of owning physical metals. Do you have any alternatives?

One guy in my office mentioned that a savings account in the Swiss currency might work, as they are still on the gold standard.

In addition, I am not sure what to do with my 401K since I cannot access the funds readily. Would commodities like oil, mining companies and fertilizer be a goof idea here, or is there a risk of nationalization? Just asking for your opinion. Thanks in advance!

Also I hope you'll respond to my post on Michael Murray's response to the problem of divine hiddenness.
 

In answer to 'winteryknight' here's a link to a great recent-ish talk by Jim Rogers (of Quantum Fund fame) about commodity investment if you're interested. He has an Austrian outlook - his answer to your questions would probably be buy commodities (via ETFs) and avoid stocks (even if commodity related).

http://www.asiasociety.org/resources/rogers_121307.html

(You'll also find it on iTunes)
 

Winteryknight, why are you uncomfortable with owning physical metals? I own physical gold, and it's in a nice, affordable safe deposit box at my bank. I doubt you own so much gold that it would not all fit into a 6x3x30 inch box. A safe deposit box is also good for very important documents, such as passports, etc.

If you don't trust your bank, and you have land (or have access to undeveloped land in your neighborhood), you can do what people have done since millenia - bury it. With GPS technology (and the use of a fixed reference point in case GPS gets changed), you can safely bury it and retrieve it whenever you need it. But, the latter solution is for the really scared (not me so far).

An ounce of gold is small, easy to carry, and easy to store. Don't keep it at home, though, because it is probably more at risk there than anywhere else.

If you are interested in gold not as a last-resort safety, but as an investment, then there is no need to hold it physically, but ETFs will do just fine.

If you are worried about the state going after your investments - then you should absolutely keep it physically. When the alarm bells go off, take it and bury what you don't need, while keeping some on you for your immediate needs.

But, I really do not understand the frequent aversion people have to holding physical gold.