Sunday, January 20, 2013

Invest in Gold - Ornaments, Coins and ETF

Gold seems to be the choice of investment in the short, mid and long terms. And, several financial experts foresee gold prices touching Rs.8000 per gram in 2015 or 2016.

In addition, gold has been traditionally the safest investment for hundreds of years. Physical gold in the form of gold ornaments has served the men and women of India in their times of distress.

Now, you can also buy gold coins and gold bars - from jewellers and banks. Banks sell 99.95% pure gold. The prices are different for different banks.

Buying Gold from Banks

Corporation Bank and Union Bank of India seems to have best deals for gold coins. See today's 24 carat gold prices at: http://www.coziie.com/gold-coin-rates (today's gold offer available from different banks in India).

Although you can buy gold from banks, you can't sell gold back to the banks. You can sell them to jewellers.

Buying Gold from Jewellers

Gold jewelleries across the country sell gold coins. Contact a few jewellers in your city to find out who have the best deals. Gold coins and bars have lowest making charges and are better investments than ornaments.

If you plan to take gold loans, you had better opt for gold ornaments, as lenders won't accept gold coins/bars.

Buying Electronic/Paper Gold

You can buy gold ETF (exchange traded fund). SBI Gold ETF, UTI Gold ETF, Quantum Gold Fund, etc are some of the options. SBI Gold Exchange Traded fund gave the best returns in the past three years (recommended).

The biggest advantage is, gold ETF has no risk and expenses of handling real gold.

It is always a good idea having at least 30% of your investments in gold. It may show losses and devaluation in the short term. However, gold has stayed a faithful servant over several centuries.