Your Guide To Investing In Gold In 2023

If you are someone who follows the news cycle or likes to dip their toes into economics and market trends, there is a surprisingly good chance that you have heard about gold investing.  Coverage on it is practically inescapable these days, yet it is still a bit of a confusing topic to dig into.  Most folks out there probably would not be able to explain how it works.  

Considering all of the positive words about it out there, though, more and more people are wanting to get involved.  If you are amongst that group, then you have come to the right place – we will be explaining the process in detail here today.  

Now, if you aren’t quite caught up with or don’t know what gold investing is yet, consider checking out a resource like this one: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60742-5/fulltext.  As you will see (and we will explain a bit further), there are a lot of historical bases for investing in gold.  That is just one of the many reasons why folks have been flocking to it these days, though.

Why Precious Metals?  What’s Special about Them?

One of the biggest questions that people have in relation to this topic is why people are interested in hunks of rock in the first place.  Obviously, there is much more to it than just the fact that they are types of metals or rocks – they are far more valuable than that.  Why is that, though?

Part of it does have to do with the fact that on the periodic table of elements, they fall under the umbrella of “precious metals.”  The ones that we tend to consider the most valuable are platinum, palladium, silver, and of course gold.  What does this classification even mean, though?

 

For the most part, it is just something that indicates certain properties in a metal.  Specifically, these ones are all rather rare in nature, they are highly conductive while not being reactive, and they have a ton of uses in manufacturing and even our everyday lives.  All of these factors add up to the fact that they are quite valuable – the fact that they are beautiful helps, of course.

Ever since the discovery of gold, it has had a hold on human societies.  When someone asks us to picture ancient societies like Egypt, many of us think about the fantastic jewelry and other accessories that were created during the time – much of it golden and lavish.  Another example is Rome – it often elicits imagery of golden coins and other celebratory items.

The main takeaway here is that there are a lot of reasonings why people value these metals so much.  They have been a surefire way to store value and net worth for centuries now, considering all of the nobility and royals that have done so throughout the years.  Thus, it should probably come as no surprise that they remain valuable today.

How Does Investing in Gold Work, then?

Next on the docket for us to consider is how we can actually get involved in investing in gold.  At first glance, it certainly seems like it is intimidating to get started.  Thankfully, though, there are plenty of resources available for us when it comes to the process.  

A lot of those resources can be found online, these days.  You could try searching gold investing 101 and be guided on your decision about investing in precious metals.  Our point here is that the possibilities are endless, so hopefully you will be able to find what you need.

There are several ways that we can invest in precious metals.  For one thing, there is the obvious: buying bullion directly.  Typically, this is only an option for gold and silver, but there are some cases where platinum and palladium are smelted into that form.  If you are intending to get bullion (which is just a fancy word for “bars,” by the way), you will likely want to go with gold simply for convenience and general ease of liquidation.

 

Part of why people invest in gold is to have something that they can store value in, but that can also be liquidated easily and quickly.  It is perfect for that purpose, really, especially considering that inflation rates do not impact the value of it as they do for paper currencies.  Of course, this does not mean that we should limit our options.

One of the many options that we have available is to use a retirement fund to invest in gold.  An example of this is to use a self-directed individual retirement arrangement (IRA, for short), to specialize in precious metals.  In these, you can use bullion, coin collections, or stocks for companies in the gold market – amongst other options.

Pages like this one, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3525301, can give you some insight into those other methods.  We would recommend checking out some of the resources that we have provided to get a better understanding of all of this if you are still confused.  The main thing to note here is that a lot of gold investing has to do with finding a broker.

Thankfully, this is not nearly as difficult to do these days as it used to be.  Now, we can simply go to the internet and search for whatever we want to find – and this certainly includes retailers who sell precious metals.  Finding the “best” one can be a bit of a challenge, still.

To overcome that issue, it is really as simple as just checking out what other investors and financial experts have to say about a given broker.  Read some reviews and scope out how trustworthy and legit a company is before you start to sink all of your savings into their gold.

 

Is Gold Investing Worth it?

On one final note for today, let us take a moment to explore whether or not it is worth it to invest in precious metals (and gold) in the first place.  It is not always easy to find answers to questions like this, after all, and most sellers are obviously going to tell you how incredible, amazing, and worth it to invest in their precious metals.

We will be a bit more candid with you.  While we would still say that the answer is “yes” in terms of whether or not it is worth it to invest in precious metals, there are some things that you should keep in mind if you plan to.  Most notably, know that there will be a fairly large upfront cost when you decide to pursue this type of investment.

The other bit to know is that while gold retains its value over time, it also does not grow much in that sense.  Essentially, this means that it is a very long-term type of investment, and it will not necessarily give you a huge payout when you decide to cash in on it.

 

Rather, it is a way to store your wealth or net worth safely and securely without having to stress about losing value thanks to inflation.  That is why many investors refer to precious metals as a hedge against inflation if you have ever heard that term before.  As you can see, the answer is not necessarily black and white – it is definitely more of a gray area.

With all of that said, if what we have described above sounds like what you are looking for, then you will likely get your money’s worth at the very least.  Why not give it a shot?