Quote:
Originally Posted by JRS
Another option is an exchange traded fund (ETF) that hold gold for you. GLD is the symbol for one of these.
It will rise and fall with the price of gold, but doesn't require you to hold (and safeguard) the actual gold. It has a cost (expense ratio) of 0.4%/yr.
Versus buying a gold mining stock, a gold ETF won't be affected by the fluctuation of the stock market - only the price of gold. Which, of course, may be good or bad, depending on where the market goes.
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Mining companies are also valued on their reserves or lack thereof in addition to fluctuations of the commodity itself. GLD doesnt suffer strikes, cave-ins or deaths.
Merits of the investment aside, if seriously wanting to own gold I'd go the ETF route and let someone else store and insure it. It can also be bought or sold with the click of a button.