Investment provides individuals a chance at a promising future, and there are many attractive investment options one can choose from. Today, we will focus on gold investments, which are very popular with those new at investing. By the end of this post, you will understand why gold is popular among savvy investors.
As you might already know, gold investment is really about the use of gold as the prime object of the venture. You may ask, why gold? And history would answer that numerous societies & cultures have treated gold as of the highest value. While nowadays it is no longer used as the main currency, it is still one of the most valuable assets anyone could have.
Experts note that the value of currencies all over the world is very much subject to the changing economic climate. No matter how big or small the changes are, you’ll notice that gold prices, or to put it more accurately – the value of gold – is almost always stable. While some investors grapple on stocks amid chaos, gold investors are usually relaxed. This is because of the fact that gold is considered to be a universally stable investment.
Advantages of gold investment
One major advantage to gold investment is that it is widely accepted worldwide. It is for this reason that investments in gold is considered to be liquid—easy to acquire and easy to dispose. Most gold investors can liquidate their investments within a span of 24-48 hours.
Seasoned investors would also tell you that gold adds to the diversification of an investment portfolio. In fact, many fund managers and investment professionals would advise that investors allocate around 5% to 10% of an overall portfolio in gold. It is said that such a strategy enables one to offset or dampen losses from other risky investments during market weakness.
Investing in gold – the dos and don’ts
So now that you know what makes gold investments so unique, how would you go about investing in gold?
The first thing to do is to learn more about gold as an investment. You must make an effort to read about gold investments even before you make your first investment. To this end, you can take advantage of the many online resources that tackle this side of the investment industry.
However, a word of caution is necessary here. Even though gold is highly liquid, you should avoid investing in gold using borrowed money, particularly if you’re very new to gold investment. Any investor would tell you that borrowing to invest is particularly risky. So what should you do? It’s always better to set a budget for your investments. This enables you to always be in control of your hard-earned money.
The different kinds of gold investments
There are different kinds of gold investments. You can focus on gold bars, gold bullions, gold plates, gold coins, and gold futures. However, gold futures aren’t very advisable if you do not have a strong background in finance / gold trade. Trading gold futures is complicated and is typically conducted only by seasoned professionals.
On the other hand, investing in gold bullions is considered a good way to be exposed to gold investments. Malaysians can buy and sell gold without actually ever owning the physical bars via gold investment accounts offered by banks. To learn more about the gold investment accounts offered by Malaysian banks, check out all the gold investment accounts we have on our site, and find which one is the best for you.
Gold is undoubtedly a good investment choice, even for novices. You just have to be careful and be thoroughly prepared before investing your first dollar. Armed with the right information and perseverance, this universal currency can give you some good returns over the long term.
Can’t wait to get started? Find out which bank is offering the best gold investment account in Malaysia.
This article was first published in February 2012 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.
