I've seen a few things/heard a few people say that gold will be the next big thing. Is there any truth in this? I've had a little look at investing in it, but it seems overly-complicated and looks to have high initial outlays (before you even start to actually buy any gold). Any thoughts on whether this would make a good short-term, *relatively* low-risk investment, and how and where to go about doing so?
TIA, DSt.
Is that "big thing" as in "magic token"? Will gold be the fashion item to fuel the continuing (or a new) credit bubble? Housing will soon be as passé as tulip bulbs. Let's all borrow dosh to buy gold!
Plenty of information on the web. Depends on what you want to buy gold for.
If you want to hold gold as an "insurance policy" then your best bet is gold coins. Krugerrands typically have the lowest commission. For a few thousands pounds worth you can probably get the commission below 5% when you buy, and similar when you sell. However, if you do want to hold it for this then you probably should keep it at home. That either means a safe or hiding individual coins around the house. (And remember, if the shit really does hit the fan then gold is only any use if there actually is food to buy)
If you are wanting low risk and short term holdings then the metal probably isn't a good idea. You'll be losing 10%+ just by buying and selling.
There are things like gold shares, futures and options, mining shares etc which can closely (or exactly) track the price of gold. If you really think gold is going to appreciate substantially in the near term then call options would possibly be your best bet, your exposure is capped to the price of the option and your gains are potentially unlimited. (Note that I've never traded options in anything so I'm not sure what complications there might be - for example if you had an option on 1000oz of gold you will either need to be able to sell it all right away or be able to raise short term capital of around 400k. Alternatively you could sell the option before it matures.)
Tim.
I made some money buying and selling gold as a newbie. I used the firm bullionvault.com, setting up the account was straightforward, you have to prove your identity etc. and deposit some money into your account, then you can buy and sell, fees are deducted as incurred and seemed ok to me, there is a small monthly handling charge (based on the weight of gold you have) to consider as well. Buying and selling is easy and clear, past price info and trends are easy to access. I sold all my gold when it seemed high and made a 10 percent profit in 4 months or so.
Have a look at their site, I found it fine for me. Good luck.
Mrcheerful
Does one still pay VAT on purchase of gold coins ?
No (at least not according to every website I've ever seen about buying and selling gold)
Tim.
Excatly the sort of info I was looking for. Thanks, mrcheerful (and others who replied), I will (possibly!) give it a whirl.
DSt.
Excatly the sort of info I was looking for. Thanks, mrcheerful (and others who replied), I will (possibly!) give it a whirl.
DSt.
Gold stocks act like a call option on gold. If you are looking to buy gold stocks you are 5 years too late, the horse bolted and the takeovers happened long ago.
G. Toomey in Australia
It isn't an income generating investment, so putting money on it is essentially gambling. You might make money, you might not.
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