What Are The Most Cost-Effective Ways To Invest In Gold?
If you've always liked the idea of an investment that has both practical and aesthetic value, you may be considering diversifying from stocks, bonds, and mutual funds into precious metals. For millennia, no metal has been as coveted as gold -- indeed, wars have been fought and casualties suffered simply for the opportunity of a country to gain a bit of extra control over an adjacent gold supply. However, with a purchase price often exceeding $1,000 per ounce (even during an economic slump), you may find that your initial investment amount doesn't go as far as you'd hoped. What are the most cost-effective methods to add gold to your portfolio? Read on to learn more about expanding your range of tangible assets.
What is the current market climate for gold?
Gold prices often peak during economic downturns when investors are reluctant to pour more money into easily-devalued paper; and when times are good, gold prices often fall. Since the U.S. economy began to emerge from the Great Recession, gold prices have steadily dropped, recently hitting their lowest point in nearly 5 years.
While this can be discouraging for those who purchased gold at a higher price and are now forced to hold on for higher prices or sell at a loss, it can provide the perfect purchase conditions for the first-time gold investor. By buying gold "on sale," you'll be able to enjoy steady appreciation through the power of inflation, and may be able to turn a significant profit when gold prices rise and demand increases.
What are some ways you can invest in gold without breaking the bank?
When pondering the topic of gold investments, you may have a mental image of a cartoon duck diving into a swimming pool filled with gold coins. However, many investors prefer not to pay the increased insurance costs (and take the additional risk) of keeping a significant volume of gold bullion or coins in their homes, and instead opt to purchase gold through one of the below methods.
- Gold bonds
Like municipal bonds and other government bonds, gold bonds provide you with a variable return in exchange for a long-term investment. Because these bonds include a modest guaranteed return in addition to market gains, you're often able to realize a greater profit than would be available if you purchased only physical gold.
For example, a gold bond with a guaranteed return of 2 percent could provide you with an annual return as high as 10 percent if the price of gold rises by 8 percent in the next year. Had you purchased an equivalent amount in coins or bullion, your return would only be the 8 percent increase in market price.
- Impure or damaged gold coins
Whenever gold prices are in a slump, you'll often be able to purchase damaged or dirty gold coins at a steep discount. For many wholesalers, the cost of shipping damaged items to a refinery and paying for them to be transformed into pure gold is higher than selling this damaged gold at a below-market rate.
However, with some fairly inexpensive equipment (like a blowtorch and heat-resistant container used to hold molten metal), you may even be able to melt and refine this gold in the privacy of your own home, using instructions you can find online. Doing this can be a fun and lucrative way to help secure your investment in a tangible asset.
To learn more, contact a gold buyer like Certified Rarities.