How to invest in gold online
Following a year of stock market swings and other areas of economic uncertainty, some Americans might be reevaluating their investments.
While you might not necessarily want to let past events guide future decisions, you might use this time to assess whether your investments still align with your preferences. From there, you might make decisions like trying to diversify with gold investments.
If you want to invest in gold, you're not limited to buying gold at a physical store. Instead, you can invest in gold online in several ways. Start by requesting a free wealth protection kit to learn more about this unique investment opportunity.
How to invest in gold online
Some of the top approaches, in no particular order, include:
Buying gold bullion
Some companies sell physical gold bullion, like gold coins or gold bars, that you can order and have shipped to you. If you don't want to physically store the gold yourself, you might find gold investment companies that let you buy gold bullion and then custody the assets on your behalf.
You can also buy gold online directly from the US Mint, much as you would complete any other e-commerce transaction.
The advantages of buying gold bullion, whether you take possession of the gold yourself or let another company store it for you, could include having a more direct, tangible ownership of these assets.
Other ways of investing in gold might not be 100% based around gold, e.g., investing in a precious metals mining company could mean getting exposure to gold, silver and other precious metals. Plus, some investors like potential gold benefits such as the collectibility factor of some gold coins, for example.
Some of the drawbacks, however, could be the hassle of storing gold yourself, whether that's paying storage fees, buying insurance, buying a safe, etc. You also might pay more of an initial premium compared to other ways to invest in gold. And you might miss out on other benefits like dividends that could come from investing in gold-related stocks.
You can explore your gold investment options with Goldco here now or use the table below to review some other top gold companies.
Investing in gold ETFs
Another choice to consider for online gold investment is gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This gives you a way to gain direct exposure to gold as an asset class while letting the fund company handle the physical gold bullion safekeeping. Meanwhile, you might be able to manage the asset alongside your other investments, such as through a brokerage app or online account.
The trading price of gold ETFs generally moves proportionally to the price of gold, though there can be slight variations, such as if the fund holds a small amount of cash. And they can be appealing to investors who want liquidity, as you can generally buy and sell gold ETFs with ease, much like other stocks.
You also might not pay as much of an initial premium compared to buying physical gold bullion. The trading price of the ETF might line up relatively close to the spot price of gold, just on a proportional basis.
A potential disadvantage, however, is that gold ETFs charge annual percentage-based fees. So, the more you own, the more you'll pay in expenses. For this reason, if you want to invest in gold ETFs, look online at what different funds charge before going through with placing an order.
Plus, gold ETFs involve giving up some control to the fund management company vs. holding physical gold yourself. The ETF trust might have small, temporary cash holdings, for example, rather than being 100% invested in gold. In general, however, these tend to be small variations.
Investing in gold-related stocks
Similar to investing in gold ETFs, some people like to invest in gold-related stocks, like for precious metals mining companies. Much as you might go online to your brokerage and place an order for a tech stock, you could buy shares of a company that mines gold, along with other precious metals like silver.
Doing so could give you exposure to gold as an asset class, because, in general, if gold prices rise, that would correlate with better financial performance for the gold mining company.
Plus, you can gain benefits that come with investing in stocks in general, like the potential for dividends. And the share price could go up based on the mining company doing a good job managing expenses rather than solely having performance based on the spot price of gold.
On the flip side, investing in gold-related stocks could expose you to additional risks. Gold prices might be strong, for example, but the mining company might be letting expenses run out of control, and therefore the stock price suffers. In other words, you're betting on the performance of the company, not just the price of gold.
You also might gain exposure to other mined assets, not just gold, which could be a pro, a con or both, depending on your perspective.
The bottom line
As you can see, there are many ways to invest in gold online. Online gold investing can be as simple as opening your brokerage app to invest in a gold ETF or gold-related stock, or it might involve shopping for gold coins or bars online, like buying a t-shirt while online shopping.
The stakes, however, are typically higher than when it comes to online shopping, so you probably want to take your time with this decision. Consider your goals, whether that's managing inflation risk, increasing diversification, taking a calculated risk, etc. Then, see if there's a way to invest in gold or other assets that align with your goals. A trusted professional can help you make this decision. A wealth protection kit from Goldco can provide additional information.
