Gold is one way to protect yourself from inflation. There are a couple of ways to own gold. Here is how to get started.
Since January of 1975 is has been legal for US citizens to own gold. You may buy gold direct from a coin or precious metals dealer or invest in shares of physical gold that are held in trust in a vault for you.
The SPDR Gold Trust, symbol GLD is an exchange traded fund. In other words you can buy one share our a hundred from one trading fee through a discount broker. The price of one share of GLD is roughly equal to one tenth of one ounce of gold plus a small management fee.
Buying shares of GLD allows you to own gold without the hassles of storage, security and shipping.
Another way to buy gold is through a reputable precious metals dealer such as the American Precious Metals Exchange or APMEX. Through these dealers you can buy generic gold bullion at prices just above market spot price. You can find gold bars in sized from one tenth to one ounce and up as well as minted gold coins such as Canadian Maple Leafs which have a very pure gold content.
Other forms of gold ownership include buying coins that have numismatic or coin collecting value. Old US gold eagles can be worth up to several thousand dollars depending on condition and year of coinage.
Both forms of gold ownership have their own advantages.
Gold can be owned in an IRA in both physical form, stored by a trust company in a vault for you, or in the form of shares of a fund such as GLD.
No comments:
Post a Comment