Which Gold Investment is Best?
Which gold investment option best meets your resources, goals, and risk profile depends on factors like cost of acquisition/sale as well as storage fees. Physical gold may provide a solid hedge and store of value but is expensive to buy/sell and store.
Gold investments can be easily gained via mutual funds and ETFs, although other options exist such as stocks from companies that mine it.
ETFs
ETFs offer an easy way to invest in gold without owning physical forms of the precious metal, with lower fees than physically holding onto physical forms of it yourself. They track its price movements but provide similar exposure.
There are a number of gold mutual funds to consider, such as SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), iShares Gold Trust (IAU) and Abrdn Physical Gold ETF (SGOL), with Abrdn Physical Gold ETF having the lowest expense ratio at 0.17 percent while also providing investors with access to an online list of bars it holds so they can verify whether their investments truly contain physical gold backing.
ETFs typically underperform gold spot prices over longer time frames when compared to stocks and bonds; this can significantly diminish its appeal among some investors. Still, most brokerages offer low minimum investment amounts for these funds if investing in gold may be part of your financial strategy. Investing in gold can provide a safe haven during uncertain economic times, so it’s essential that you fully understand its role before beginning purchasing any.
Mutual Funds
At times of economic unpredictability, high inflation rates and stock market turmoil, some investors turn to gold for security. But this metal investment may not suit every person, especially those unwilling to incur high storage and handling fees.
Gold can be invested in using mutual funds and ETFs that track its price, as these investments offer low-cost exposure without paying premiums associated with physical bullion investments. Larger investors may opt to own physical gold bullion directly instead; however, this requires incurring storage fees as well.
Gold mining stocks provide another avenue for profiting from an increasing gold price, though they may be more volatile and require more research than ETFs. Physical gold purchases may be costly and difficult unless you have access to a reliable coin dealer.
Gold Mining Stocks
Gold mining stocks offer higher returns than other gold investments; however, they also carry greater risk. Geopolitical tensions or production-related issues could potentially wreak havoc, while poor company management could result in large-scale losses for gold mining stocks.
Gold mining companies differ from physical gold in that their profits come from both sales of mined metals as well as increases in commodity prices; their stock prices thus tend to move in tandem with this commodity’s fluctuating prices.
Gold mining stocks and ETFs tracking them offer an effective way to diversify your portfolio and hedge against inflation, but for investors with lower-risk tolerance it may be more suitable to consider investing in gold-backed ETFs which offer lower volatility and less operational leverage. Or consider gold streaming and royalty companies which own their own mines but pay royalties or percentages of revenue to existing miners in exchange for discounted pricing from existing miners (streaming contracts) or future production (royalty contracts), offering more consistent performance results.
Physical Gold
Gold investment is among the easiest forms available, when compared with stocks and real estate investments. It does not incur fees and charges associated with those other forms of investments such as storage costs and capital gains taxes, as well as lower maintenance costs than these others. Nonetheless, physical gold cannot generate cash-generating returns and requires some level of expertise and knowledge when purchasing and selling it.
Add gold to your portfolio as an effective hedge against inflation and market instability, but take care not to over-invest; too much gold can limit any long-term price appreciation in other assets. Research your options carefully and create an actionable financial plan in line with your goals; this will allow you to avoid making impulse decisions and maximize potential for successful investing – whether investing in physical gold, ETFs, stocks or funds! Take advantage of all opportunities now available.
Categorised in: Blog