By : Shashank Suresh
For generations, gold has been a prized possession. This long-term value illustrates gold’s long-term stability and appeal. Investors believe gold to be one of the safest investments since it swiftly recovers its value in the event of a downturn in the economy. Its price frequently moves in the opposite direction of the stock market or economic fluctuations. ETFs, shares in gold miners and related firms, and buying a physical commodity are all options for gold investors. There are as many reasons for these individuals to invest in metal as there are ways to do so.
Why you should invest in Gold?
- Protection against Inflation
Gold’s ability to protect against inflation has been shown time and time again. Gold rates are almost unaffected by inflation, so you won’t lose money if inflation strikes and currency values fall in the global market. Now, in the case of India, the Rupee’s value has not been performing well in 2021, thus investing in gold is not a terrible idea at all.
- Tangible Resource
Gold is safe for the people who are trying to start doing investments as very little risk is involved with the gold purchase.
- Liquidation is straightforward
One of the main reasons for making any financial investment is to have a backup in case you need it in the future, and gold is one of the easiest hard assets to sell. If you need to sell your gold to make ends meet, all you have to do is sell it to the buyer of your choice. There are always willing customers for gold. However, keep in mind that the return rate is not always what you hope; in fact, in the case of real gold, you get less than you invest.
- Creation of Wealth
We all know that gold is a valuable metal. Gold has a particular position in any Indian home and is regarded as a family’s riches. For example, gold jewelry is passed down from generation to generation as a legacy and a sign of family wealth.
Drawbacks
- Storage Issues
Storing real gold has the same security risks as storing any other kind of currency in our home. Because gold is as vulnerable to theft as anything else in our home, investors must exercise greater caution when investing in gold. Although investing in gold through a gold ETF or fund of funds is a better option, you are still subject to internet security assaults. The difference is that this security danger may affect anybody or even everyone, as well as other assets such as mutual funds.
- Poor Returns on Physical gold
If you invest in gold jewelry, the return rates on real gold are never lucrative. The reason for this is that the price of jewelry is decided not only by gold rates, but also by making charges, and this is just half of the tale, i.e. when you buy the gold. Now, when you sell gold, the situation is completely different; the manufacturing costs are not taken into account, and you are paid simply for pure gold at the current gold prices.
- Unstable source of Income
People invest to provide a source of income for themselves or their children once they retire. Because you invest in gold once and sell it once, there is no continual profit that pours into your pockets with gold investment. So, while gold is undoubtedly one of the finest physical assets, it falls short when it comes to income investing.
How to Invest in Gold
There are multiple ways of investing in gold. Some of the most popular ways are: –
1. Physical Gold
The oldest technique of establishing a gold investment is to buy real gold. Whenever you purchase gold, you are essentially making a gold investment. But, because we’re talking about gold as an investment, there are two methods to do so: jewelry and bars and coins.
2. Gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
ETFs that invest in gold are known as gold ETFs. All you need is a DEMAT account, a trading account, and the payment of brokerage fees, which are typically between.25 and.5 percent of the cost of the Gold ETF. Given the performance of gold rates, a gold ETF is a better alternative for investing in gold than actual gold if you want to make some real money. Kotak Gold ETF, SBI Gold ETF, etc are the most popular choice of investment.