Gold Investing - 7 Levels of Risk

The choice of gold related investments continues to expand.

The amount of gearing determines the risk levels.

1. Gold Coins and Bullion are the traditional way of investing in gold and silver. Bullion coins are legal tender and free of capital gains tax. There are now a number of reliable storage facilities which guarantee security and which enable you to trade your gold holdings. GoldMoney and the Perth Mint are both excellent examples of ways to hold and trade gold and other precious metals without having to take delivery. Bullion will track the price of the metal, making it the least volatile way of holding gold. Rare gold coins can on the other hand be very volatile.

2. Gold Bullion Funds - This is a way of holding the 'virtual' metal by holding the shares of the trust. Each share is secured by gold bullion holdings which theoretically can be delivered in lieu of the shares. SPDR Gold Trust is the largest of these and has been the focus of significant buying activity by George Soros recently. And where George Soros is seen to go, many follow!

3. Gold Mutual Funds - If you prefer some gearing to your investment choices, Gold mutual funds are one of the safer ways to invest in gold stocks.There are now a wide range of gold funds, Blackrock Gold and General being one example. It has performed fantastically well since its launch in 1988 (note, near the bottom of the market) at 1 pound sterling per unit. It now stands around 11.50 sterling and has been as high as 13.50 sterling.

4. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are securities trading on the stock exchange generally tracking the underlying index. One of the most popular is Market Vectors ETF (GDX) representing the BIG Gold companies, was launched in 2006 at $37 and has been as high as $55 and as low as $15. It now stands at around $44

5. Higher risk ETFs - Market Vectors Juniors (GDXJ) tends to be a notch higher in risk level. It was launched very recently in November 2009 at $26, and has already demonstrated swings of almost 20% in both directions. GDXJ represents a basket of fairly high risk equities on the Canadian Market which is reflected in its volatility.

6. Individual Equities - Unlike Gold Bullion which is regarded as a safe haven asset, unhedged gold shares are regarded as risky and can be extremely volatile. There are hundreds of listed companies out there claiming to be gold exploration concerns. The majority will never produce a dime. Good research or professional advice is recommended.

7. Futures and Options - And at the top end of the gearing and risk scale are gold and silver futures, or options on gold and silver futures. This is a highly specialized area which can win or lose fortunes.
Writter was based in S.E Asia for many years where she developed her interest in precious metals. Until recently Gold has not been an area the average investor would consider, but that has changed and suddenly gold is mainstream, and there are so many opportunities out there to profit from gold and silver. Anna enjoys sharing her knowledge with other enthusiasts. She has prepared a complimentary report packed with facts which you can download at Gold Guide.

Gold Investing Strategies For Huge Profits

Gold investing strategies will create huge profits.
I like gold investing for the future because gold is real wealth. Here are a few gold and investing secrets that will serve you well whether you are investing in gold or pharmaceuticals. Always remember that these secrets for investing in gold work for both stocks and general equities.

Know what you are investing in. Do your due diligence and become very familiar with the company before you invest one dime in it. It is not that hard and after all, it's your money that you are investing, so be thorough.

The next two are really sub headings of number one, but they will stay in your mind longer if they have their own numbers! Look through the companies financial reports and see where their money is going. This is like a doctor taking the pulse of a patient.

Call the companies investor relations department and talk to them. See what they think about the companies future and ask any questions about things that you don't understand about their operations. It's simple and you can learn a lot, and the calls are usually free because they are 800 numbers!

Check out the stock's charts so that you get an idea of how it has been trading. You learn a lot about a stock by seeing how it has traded in the past.

These are simple gold and investing secrets that most investors fail to take advantage of. They most often prefer to go on a broker's tip, or on advice from a friend. Those sources are fine and dandy if you have done your own research and it backs up their advice.

It is important to realize that the gold market is very small in comparison to the general equities markets and because of that, the market can swing wildly when large sums of money are dumped into it or taken out of it. The more you know about the company that you are investing in, the better equipped you are to deal with changes in the market. You will know when to take profits, and when to exit the stock when the situation changes for the better or the worse. You will also know what percentage to put in a trailing stop when the stock takes off so you won't lose money if there is a drastic turn during the day when you are unable to watch it.

If you just follow these basic gold and investing secrets for a couple of months you will see a dramatic change in your investment's performance. They all boil down to forming a discipline in your investment philosophy that will change these gold investing strategies to just plain investing common sense that you use every day.

Don't make the same mistakes I did Investing in Gold, check out our free guide to gold investing and avoid the pitfalls and increase profits when gold investing.

If you have found this article helpful, check out his blog of market insight to the gold industry at --- http://www.buygoldco.com

Another hot alternative to get the  huge profit... visit: http://www.goldpartymoneymachine.com

Gold Investment is One of the Best Forms of Financial Security

The Best Forms of Financial Security
Gold is one of the most expensive as well as desired metals in the world. From coins to jewelry, gold has been used in many ways over many centuries. In some countries gold is considered auspicious. In times of economic instability and when stock markets seem to be taking the plunge, the only investment that has not been disturbed by the recession and other economic problems is gold investment. As a result more and more people are opting for gold investment to avoid any financial insecurity in the near future. There are plenty of reasons for gold investment but here are some of the top ones:

Value: One of the primary reasons why experts recommend gold investment is because it doesn't lose its value everyday unlike currencies. Gold is never exaggerated due to devaluation or inflation because there is a limited natural supply in the world. What most people have realized is that once all the gold in the world is gone there will be no alternative metal to replace it. Hence, people are investing in gold in order to have control over future.

Globally Acceptable: One of the salient points about gold investment is that you can purchase gold from just about anywhere in the world. Not only buying, the acceptability of gold is very high. In fact, gold is acceptable in any place or country in the world, which makes it a comfortable investment option.

Economy: Gold is an important driver of world economy. Most developing and developed countries in the world have their own share of gold, which provides a country with financial security and helps them to handle economic downturns. This basically means that gold investment is one of the best investments you can have and it can be transferred from one generation to another without any problem.

Recession: The world just went through a period of recession and it is not completely over. Governments could have collapsed; economies would have crashed if there was no gold. It is the gold that countries have in their reserve that bails out economies from crisis situations.

Portfolio: One of the most important aspects of having an investment portfolio is that it should be diversified from time to time. Since the prices of gold is quite stable in comparison to the stock market or mutual funds, having it on your portfolio will provide you with something to fall back on. Gold investment is lucrative and offers several benefits and hence it is becoming an extremely popular investment choice in the US and other countries in Europe.

Inflation: One of the primary reasons for gold investment is that it will save your investment portfolio from inflation.

Both gold and silver have always been versatile investments unlike stocks. Secondly there are several ways of investing in gold like gold coins, gold bullion, ETF's, gold exchange and much more.


Kelly Hunter owns and operates http://www.silver-bullion-bars.net and writes about Silver Bullion Bars

What You Need to Know About Gold Investment

The  information that you must know before involved in Gold Investment

Long before the recent global financial meltdown, investors and economists were fully aware of the value of gold as an indispensable investment item. Gold investment is however not something that is seen as a traditional use of gold. But should you invest in gold? If so, why and what factors should you consider as you do so?

Stability

Over time, gold has proved to be a more stable store of value compared to currencies. If you are holding Dollars or Euros, you will have to worry about sudden loss in the confidence in the particular currency. You may have seen that many countries which had indicated that they would like to hold more of the Euro have backed off once they saw the collapse of the Greek economy. When you look at the stock market, you will realize that the market can crush overnight and turn billionaires to paupers, however, such a thing has never happened in the gold market.

High Liquidity

Gold is a near money issue. Unlike other assets such as real estate, gold is considered as near money, and therefore, it is something that you can easily dispose off when you want real cash to help you sort out your own business.

Diversification

Gold provides an investment option that is totally suitable for people who would like to diversify. If you hold several stocks and you would like to diversify your investment so as to minimize your risk, gold investment should be one of your considerations.

Disadvantages

Despite the fact that gold investment has all these advantages, it is important that you also take note of the fact that it has also its own disadvantages, which are the following:

Low Returns

Generally, the low risk assets are usually low returns assets. This means that you should not expect to get extra rich through investing in gold. The essence of most gold investors is just to store their wealth in form of assets that will beat inflation.

Another disadvantage of investing in gold is the fact that this may cause an increase in costs associated with the storage of the said gold. Unfortunately, there are usually no dividends that will accrue so as to carter for this cost of storage.

Factors To Consider

Before investing in gold, you need to look at the following items for you to know that what you are doing is okay.

General market trends: Check out the market trends. If the market is bullish, then you would do well to increase your investment in stocks and reduce yours in gold. However, when you see that the market is sliding, then take gold

Investment objective: As mentioned, gold is usually taken as an insurance against decline in the stock market. It is therefore a safe asset, but not really a rewarding asset. Its value usually increases dramatically only when there has been a loss of confidence in stocks. Therefore, your degree of risk aversion will determine how much gold you will invest in.

Regardless of the disadvantages of the gold investment, it is important to say that if you want to invest in gold, then that is probably one of the things that you ought to do. Just invest in it.

Learn more about gold investments at http:.com.


Danial Harris is manages and writes for a personal growth website, http://SuccessESource.com. Learn more about gold investments at http://Articles.SuccessESource.com.

Alternative Investment Opportunities

Some of the Hottest Alternative Investment Opportunities Today

Gold investments are among the best alternative investments currently available, especially in the context of the economic insecurity that still affects many world economies.

Why It's Worth Investing in Gold

Gold is seen as a great investment whenever there is the threat of a raising inflation, as it helps people convert volatile assets into a precious metal that will continue to be valuable regardless of what befalls the economy.

But gold also makes for a possibly good investment for those who seek to get a nice return on their investments. Short term investments in gold, however, do not tend to be as rewarding as other investments, since the price of gold is somewhat more stable than that of say silver, which rises and falls more often and more significantly.

But when it comes to long-term alternative investments, gold is considered by many to be unrivaled. That's because gold has been since time immemorial prized for its beauty and value, and will continue to be so for years to come regardless of what happens with the financial markets.

Unless an unimaginably vast deposit of gold is found soon - which is unlikely, considering that right known gold deposits are actually dwindling - gold will continue to retain its high value, which makes the precious metal ideal for an alternative investment.

Gold is venerated and desired and these contribute to making it one of the most secure things to invest it. And besides, when you invest in gold you can actually own the material, which may give you a pleasure than not all the money in the world can buy.

Gold's Rivals: Silver and Platinum

Gold clearly dominates the other precious metals. Silver is more volatile and much less valuable, its market being much smaller than that of gold. This makes silver investments potentially good for quick gains, but ultimately unreliable for long-term serious investments. And besides, silver takes more storage space than gold.

Platinum, on the other hand, is more valuable, but also more difficult to handle. Investments in platinum are infamous for their high risk, and only few experts really carry them out. What's more, unlike gold, platinum is hard to convert into cash.

How to Invest

Gold investments can be some of the most rewarding alternative investments, especially when they are significant. But even investing in small quantities of gold can be rewarding.

You can invest in gold by buying bullion or coins. Alternatively, you can buy stock in gold mining or gold producing companies, as well as gold futures contracts. Some say though that the best gold investments are those in which you buy and own the precious metal yourself.

Investing in gold is definitely one of the hottest alternative investment opportunities today. But to invest successfully you need to compare investment opportunities and to go with the one your calculations point you to.

Gold investments have recently become very popular. To find out more about investing in gold, visit Compare the Financial Markets