Thursday, 8 December 2011

Investing In Gold

By Jack Wogan


You need to understand physical gold, digital gold and "paper" gold distinctly, just in the way you do with money, if you want to start investing in gold. You need to know that a bullion bar, a gold sovereign, gold futures or mining shares can each make a good starter, if you understand the way in which each of them connects to a different point of view concerning gold as an investment.

The investment method that best suits your motivation will be the best way for you to invest in gold. Basically, short term investments correlate with the investor being focused on market speculation. Medium term investments aim at accumulation while long term investments view gold investments as a form of financial insurance.

Gold as an investment implies certain costs you need to consider. Besides the initial financial outlay, the different forms of gold possession all imply different annual fees that need to be included in your previous calculations. Access to your investments is another issue you need to consider. The gold sovereign or gold bullion bar, i.e. the allocated and deliverable physical forms of gold are you best options, if you need easy access. In terms of price per oz., the gold sovereign is more expensive than the gold bar, but you should also know that only the coins are exempt from the Capital Gain Tax.

Gold in its unallocated and undeliverable forms like futures, options, mutual funds and mining shares, is appropriate for making speculative investment. As a rule, gold allows for relatively risk free speculation in the market, but the ownership of speculative gold poses clear risks to the precious metal owner. Other, specific risks connected to mid-term and long term investments refer to the counter parties such as banks, funds and trustees that you need to have business contracts with.

A professional investor will make wise investments in gold by diversifying his portfolio of assets, which will include physical gold in the form of bullion bars and coins as well as "paper' gold in the form of RFT's and gold futures. Besides professional investors ordinary people may also manifest interest in owning different forms of gold. If you are a British citizen and you are over 18, then you can buy gold mine shares or you can make investments in gold through an EFT as part of your ISA. If you invest through a SIPP, then gold can become part of your pension investment. And specialized professionals can help you online to make appropriate decisions concerning your gold investment portfolio.




About the Author:



No comments: