The Best Ways To Invest In Gold: The Ultimate Gold Investing Guide (2024)

Thank you for visiting our complete 2024 guide on the best ways to invest in gold and other precious metals. In this guide, we will help you learn how to buy gold like a pro.

We will explain why gold and other precious metals are a great investment and whether it is best to invest in physical gold, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), gold mining stocks, or simply open a Precious Metals IRA to take advantage of a tax-deferred gold investment.

Also, check out a time-limited special promotion from our #1 recommended company!

For a limited time, they are offering up to 10% of your order in FREE silver! Meaning that if you purchase metals for $100,000, you get $10,000 in FREE silver!

>>Learn more about this special promotion here!<<

Rating Overview From The Same Company:

• Free Storage for Non-IRA Precious Metals
• Biggest Promotions in the Industry
• Unmatched Customer Service
• No High Pressure Sales Tactics
• Outstanding Ratings & Customer Reviews
• FREE and Easy IRA & 401(k) Rollovers
• A+ BBB Rating and AAA BCA Rating
• Highest Buy-Back Guarantee
• 2021 Company Of The Year Award

With that said, since this is a comprehensive guide, you can use the quick links in the TOC list to jump straight to any section:

Now, let us jump straight to the topic of why you are here: to learn the best way to invest in gold.

What Is The Best Way To Invest In Gold And Other Precious Metals?

Some investors prefer to invest in gold ETFs, gold mining stocks, or bonds but based on extensive research, we stand by our belief that the best way to invest in gold is by buying physical gold, and in this guide, we will explain why.

Despite this statement, we will still present all ways you can invest in gold so that you will have all the information you need to make the right investment decision for the future.

But if you want to jump straight to the reasons why you should invest in physical gold and other precious metals, you can click here.

That said, let us look at why you should invest in gold next.

1. Why Invest In Gold?

War, increasing gas prices, and interest rate hikes are all hitting the wallets of everyday Americans and millions are watching their retirement savings disappear as the stock market continues to take a nosedive.

Inflation remains high and we may even move toward stagflation, which is causing many Americans to move their money out of the stock market and into safe-haven assets, like physical gold and silver.

The global spot price of gold has risen significantly over the past 30 years, which shows it’s an asset class investors can rely on:

The precious metals market is also projected to hit $403.08 billion in 2021-2028 and shows a CAGR of 5.6%. And central banks keep stocking up on gold as North America is currently storing 813,962.69 US$m worth of gold according to World Gold Council’s data, which is a sign they fear what’s coming next.

Additionally, Ole Hansen, a renowned commodity expert from Saxo Bank in Denmark has predicted that gold prices could reach an all-time high of $4000 per ounce. Should markets conclude global inflation will continue to rise despite the monetary tightening, Ole believes the golden metal is set for gains!

According to US Global Investors graph below, central banks bought 400 tonnes of gold in 2022 – around $20 billion, the most in over a half-century:

And this buying trend has continued throughout 2023. As a result, 2024 marks the start of what many believe will be a bull market for precious metals as federal spending is out of control and inflation is remaining high.

In uncertain times like these, it is more important than ever to turn to assets that help you hedge against inflation and other economic stresses to help strengthen your savings.

What Precious Metals Can Do For You

Precious metals will help you:

• Hedge against a weaker dollar, the CBDC digital dollar, and inflation
• Limit exposure to economic uncertainty
• Mitigate the effects of geopolitical instability
• Diminish negative fallout from the coronavirus economic crisis
• Diversify your portfolio
• Take real ownership of your financial future

Additionally, gold is a great investment because it does not only protect your portfolio from the volatility of the markets but it may also set it up for significant future growth.

As J.P Morgan once said:

What he means is that in times of economic uncertainty and instability, buying gold makes more sense than other assets. Gold is no one’s liability and carries no counterparty risk.

It is a tangible asset that will stand the test of time. In other words, it is a store of value that offers financial insurance, which is why physical gold and other metals should be an essential part of any investor’s portfolio who want to protect their savings.

Trevor Gerszt, founder of Goldco means:

“Precious metals should not be seen as an investment, but as financial insurance.”

If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the 7+ top precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).

Gold Is Considered A Valuable Luxury

Historically, gold has moved in the opposite direction of traditional securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. When the stock market goes down, the price of gold and silver tends to rise.

For this reason, gold has proved to be a successful preserver of wealth throughout time. Also, high gold prices and record demand have ensured that it has outperformed most other forms of investments.

As a highly precious metal, gold’s worth is recognized internationally and is considered a valuable luxury no matter where you are in the world. Gold investment should be viewed primarily as a low-risk security asset.

So if you are looking to minimize risk, diversify your portfolio, and safeguard your wealth during times of heightened volatility, you should turn to precious metals.

The combination of these factors means that adding gold to a portfolio can enhance risk-adjusted returns.

Now, let us take a look at the increasing demand for gold and why that is.

2. Gold Demand Is Increasing

For starters, small gold bars and gold coins accounted for approximately two-thirds of the annual investment in gold. As well as around one-quarter of the global gold demand over the past decade.

Second, the demand for bars and coins has quadrupled since the early 2000s and the trend covers both the East and the West – World Gold Council. The COVID-19 outbreak was the single biggest factor influencing the gold demand.

According to US Global Investors graph below, central banks bought 400 tonnes of gold in 2022 – around $20 billion, the most in over a half-century:

And this buying trend has continued throughout 2023. As a result, 2024 marks the start of what many believe will be a bull market for precious metals as federal spending is out of control and inflation is remaining high, causing investors to seek safe-haven assets.

3. Physical Gold, Futures Options, Gold Stocks, Or Funds?

Now, let us move on to the main topic of this guide: Whether you should invest in physical gold, future options, gold mining stocks, or funds.

We will start by taking a look at physical gold.

For more details, you can view our list of IRA-approved gold and silver bullion.

Additionally, prudent gold investors ensure that they pay the lowest costs to purchase their gold. And are then able to sell it quickly and easily for the full value when they want to.

The good news is that you can rest assured that there will always be established bullion dealers who are willing to buy your gold instantly over the telephone. In just a few minutes, you can realize the value of your gold and get a bank transfer or instant cash payment on the very same day.

For instance, both gold investment companies, Augusta Precious Metals and Goldco will buy back your precious metals any business day of the week, and have funds in your possession within 24 hours of a sale.

If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the 7+ top precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).

4. What Is Better To Invest In: Gold Or Silver?

The question of whether it is better to invest in gold or silver is often on new investors’ minds. First of all, it is important to remember that gold and silver have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Ultimately, your decision to invest in gold or silver will depend on which metal better suits your investment needs. Many investors decide to invest in both gold and silver.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Investing in gold has the advantage of long-term price stability and unparalleled wealth protection.
• On the other hand, silver has the advantage of higher potential gains.
• In fact, silver quadrupled in price after the 2008 recession, while gold only tripled in price.
• Also, some investors like the feeling of getting something for their money when buying silver.

While $50,000 in gold can fit into your pocket, $50,000 in silver will fill many Priority Mail shipping boxes. So, the sheer amount of silver can make some investors feel rich.

In addition, you should not forget that you have the option to invest in four different precious metals: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. We will dig deeper into these metals in the section: The 4 best precious metals to invest in right now. As exciting as that might be, how much gold should you invest to achieve maximum benefit, you may ask?

Let us answer that next.

5. How Much Gold Should You Invest?

According to the portfolio allocation analysis (based on the seminal work of Richard and Robert Michaud), investors who hold between 2% to 10% of their portfolio in gold can significantly improve their performance.

This is also true when assuming a conservative average annual gold return of a modest 2% to 4%, which is well below its actual long-term historical performance. So, investing as little as 2% to 10% of your total portfolio will set your portfolio up for significant growth. But more importantly, it will offer you financial insurance and a hedge against inflation.

Note: Any gold company that tells you to invest more than 10% of your total portfolio does not have your best interest in mind, and you should continue looking for a reputable gold dealer.

6. How Liquid Are My Precious Metals Investments?

The liquidity of your precious metals investments will depend on what form of precious metals you invest in. But in general, gold and silver are highly liquid.

In fact, gold and silver are traded 24/7 around the world. The investor markets for gold coins and bars are highly active. And as previously mentioned, you can rest assured that you will always be able to find a willing buyer for your precious metal investments.

Today, the demand for gold and silver is so high that many investors cannot find enough gold and silver coins. Some mints around the world had to shut down their operations temporarily as a result of COVID-19, which has had the effect of further spurring demand.

Needless to say, everyone wants to get their hands on gold and silver coins while they still can and before prices rise any further. When investing in, for example, a Precious Metals IRA and you want to take a distribution, you can easily take possession of your precious metals.

Also, aside from potentially having to sell a portion of your assets to cover any taxes you may owe, you will not necessarily have to worry about liquidating a huge portion of your precious metals.

7. Choosing A Reputable Gold Dealer

We cannot state enough how important it is to choose a reputable gold dealer. It can make all the difference, both when it comes to credibility and reassurance. As well as when assessing the vital elements that can affect your investment return such as coin selection and tax efficiency.

It is of paramount importance to do proper due diligence before transferring your hard-earned money from your bank account. More importantly, because gold is an expensive purchase, one bad transaction can cost you a lot of money.

Reputable gold investment companies will be able to help both experienced investors looking for diversification, as well as those looking to own gold for the first time.

The 7+ Best Gold IRA Companies Of 2024

To help you identify the best option to protect and grow your wealth today, we have reviewed and rated the top 7+ gold IRA companies in the industry:

Here’s our list of the top 7+ gold IRA companies (reviewed & rated), starting with our winner Goldco Precious Metals:

1. Goldco: Best Overall Gold IRA Provider
2. Augusta Precious Metals: Most Trusted Gold IRA Company
3. American Hartford Gold: Most Transparent Fee Structure
4. Birch Gold Group: The Gold IRA Specialist
5. American Coin Co: Best ROI Gold IRA
6. Noble Gold: Most Personalized Service
7. Gold Alliance: Most Affordable Gold IRA
8.

>

Company	Reviews	Annual Fees	Investment Minimums (IRA)	Preferred Custodian	Free Gold Kit
		$0	$25,000	Equity Trust
		$0	$50,000	Equity Trust
		$100	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$0	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$180	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$80	$2,000	Equity Trust
		$180	$10,000	Equity Trust

You can rest assured that your gold investment will be safe with any of these precious metals companies. Besides, your gold dealer should also be able to offer options such as tax-free gold, pension gold or a so-called gold IRA, a buy-back program, and so forth.

Why Not Sign Up For This FREE Investor Webinar To Learn More?

8. Where To Store Your Gold Bullion?

There are 3 primary options for storing your gold bullion:

Option 1. Take Physical Possession Of Your Gold

First of all, you can take personal custody of your bullion. If you choose this option, you will need to store it in a safe place, somewhere it is unlikely to get stolen or destroyed by fire or some other disaster.

Furthermore, make sure to insure your gold. You can do this easily with your homeowner’s insurance policy to provide coverage in the event of a loss.

Option 2. Storage With The Gold Dealer

Second of all, you can store your gold with the gold dealer you bought it from. For example, Goldco charges $0 for storage for non-IRA transactions.

Option 3. Open a Gold IRA Account

Third of all, a self-directed gold IRA will allow you to hold bullion in your retirement account with the same tax advantages as a conventional IRA. Setting up a gold IRA is a specialized process, and you will need to find an IRA custodian that specializes in this practice.

For this reason, we highly recommend starting your gold IRA with any of the companies below. They all have Precious Metals Specialists who can help you make the transfer or rollover process quick and painless.

You can request a free gold information kit from each company by clicking on the button to the right.

Here’s our list of the top 7+ gold IRA companies (reviewed & rated):

1. Goldco: Best Overall Gold IRA Provider
2. Augusta Precious Metals: Most Trusted Gold IRA Company
3. American Hartford Gold: Most Transparent Fee Structure
4. Birch Gold Group: The Gold IRA Specialist
5. American Coin Co: Best ROI Gold IRA
6. Noble Gold: Most Personalized Service
7. Gold Alliance: Most Affordable Gold IRA
8.

>

Company	Reviews	Annual Fees	Investment Minimums (IRA)	Preferred Custodian	Free Gold Kit
		$0	$25,000	Equity Trust
		$0	$50,000	Equity Trust
		$100	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$0	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$180	$10,000	Equity Trust
		$80	$2,000	Equity Trust
		$180	$10,000	Equity Trust

9. Why Invest In A Gold IRA?

You should invest in a gold IRA because it allows you to diversify any portion of your retirement portfolio by actually owning physical metals within that retirement plan.

Besides, you can include pre-existing IRAs and former 401k(s) or TSPs with previous employers. For more details, visit our guide on how to buy gold with your 401(k) or TSP to gold IRA – how to convert your TSP to gold.

By investing in gold and other precious metals through a gold IRA or precious metals IRA, you can rest assured that your assets are safe and secure. You do not have to worry about a possible stock market crash or inflation, where your paper assets potentially will lose most of their value.

Investors can securely possess physical precious metals in a tax-deferred account.

To learn more, check out this video about the benefits of investing in a gold IRA:

10. How To Start A Gold IRA

If you are interested in physical precious metals, starting a gold IRA is easy! Simply, fill out this online application and a precious metals specialist will contact you within 15 minutes. Filling out the short form will also grant you access to a Gold IRA Guide or Investment Kit that will be shipped to you for free. This comprehensive guide will give you all the information you need to make informed decisions about your investment.

To establish an account, you’ll need to provide personally identifiable information like your social security number. If you don’t have a precious metals custodian company, your choosen gold IRA company will help you set up an account with one of their preferred custodian companies.

This is the gold IRA setup process in short:

✓ Sign Your Agreement

To secure your precious metals purchase and understand the company’s terms of doing business, you will review, approve and sign a standard customer agreement.

✓ Fund Your Account

There are different ways to fund your account, and those are typically either sending funds through a bank wire, or simply mailing a check to the gold IRA company of your choice’s office.

✓ Select Your Precious Metals

As soon as you have funds in your account, it’s time to start thinking about which precious metals to add to it. You get to pick and then the gold IRA investment firm handles the shipping. Plus, you can choose to have your coins delivered to an independent insured depository, sent straight to you, or you might even qualify for free storage (ask your provider).

11. The 4 Best Precious Metals To Invest In Right Now

While everyone is familiar with gold and silver, they often overlook the other precious metals, those in the platinum group: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum.

So what is the best metal to invest in right now?

1. Gold

There is a reason people refer to certain benchmarks as a “gold standard” – because gold is the object against which every other good has always been valued.

Here are reasons why gold is the most desirable of the metals:

• Gold’s ability to maintain its value over time is legendary.
• Just look at the difference between a $20 gold piece and its contemporary $20 bill. That $20 bill is still worth $20, while the $20 gold piece will net you over 80 times that much.
• More so, gold is not just a source of stability or diversification for an investment portfolio.
• It is also a source of potential wealth appreciation.
• For instance, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the price of gold nearly tripled in value.
• Those who want to protect their tax-advantaged retirement accounts can even take advantage of a 401(k) to gold IRA rollover to invest in gold.

A gold IRA allows owners of tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar account to roll over those funds into an IRA that invests in precious metals such as gold.

As mentioned, the gold IRA offers the same tax advantages as any conventional IRA, but with the added protection that an investment in physical gold coins or bars can offer.

2. Silver

All that glitters is not gold, as silver investors know well. While silver often plays second fiddle to gold, it is an important metal in any investor’s portfolio because of the following reasons:

• During precious metal bull markets, silver’s gains can often outstrip those of gold.
• In fact, after the 2008 crisis silver quadrupled in price while gold only tripled.
• Additionally, the silver price and market are different than that of gold because silver is much more heavily used in industry than gold.
• Roughly half of all demand for silver comes from industry, whether it is from electronics, dental equipment, or increasingly the solar panel industry. And for this reason, the industrial demand for silver is forecasted to increase.

Read more about the benefits of silver in 10 reasons why you should invest in silver.

Like gold, silver can be invested through an IRA. A silver IRA allows investors to hold the silver in an IRA and enjoy all the same benefits of a tax-advantaged retirement account, while simultaneously investing in physical silver coins or bars.

3. Platinum

Platinum is the third-most-popular precious metal among investors today. Platinum’s history is not as long as that of gold even though the metal has existed for millennia.

Roughly half of the platinum produced today is used in automotive catalytic converters, its primary industrial use. A large portion of platinum is used in jewelry. And the remainder is used for electronics and in various other industries that need platinum’s resistance to corrosion.

The platinum price has been more volatile than gold recently, largely due to falling industrial demand from the automotive industry. Over 80% of today’s platinum production comes from South Africa, which may lead to fears of supply disruption.

However, that also means that in the event of a disruption, the platinum price should rise significantly. With that said, it is hard to imagine platinum becoming any cheaper than it already is.

Years from now investors may look back and kick themselves for not investing in platinum when they had the chance.

4. Palladium

Only discovered in the early 19th century, and once of limited use primarily in jewelry, palladium has rocketed in price in recent years. Like its sister, platinum, palladium finds one of its primary uses in the automotive industry in catalytic converters.

Recent supply disruptions have caused the palladium price to skyrocket, reaching over $2,500 at one point in early 2020. Even though the price has fallen back below $2,000, palladium is still more valuable than gold, at least for now.

On a final note, we want to give you something important to consider: The power and freedom precious metals offer.

12. Gold Is Power And Freedom

Gold and silver have been the money formula for thousands of years. Because investors are allowed to hold their precious metals outside of the financial system, it gives them some level of power, liberty, and freedom. Much of the world relies on a debt-based Fiat Ponzi scheme and metals protect investors from this.

More so, precious metals are a separate asset class from stocks and bonds and are partially uncorrelated, which means that they have their own unique risks and opportunities.

Gold should be the most essential part of your investment portfolio since it is a form of financial insurance and an inflation and deflation hedge. The yellow metal protects you from currency risk, stock market volatility, and the grip of the financial system.

Besides, just a small allocation of precious metals 2% to 10% could add a significant amount of protection to your portfolio if things get ugly in the financial markets.

There will always be a great demand for physical gold and silver. But, unfortunately, there is a limited supply, which is why investors are flocking to get hold of the yellow metal while they can.

And you should, too!

If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the 7+ top precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).