The stock market has been responsible for so many people losing so much money in the last several years that one wonders how gold has performed. The current gold price indicates that anyone who has had money in gold has done much better than those that have had their money in stocks. Gold is seen by many as a hedge against uncertainty and these have been uncertain times for sure.
If you haven’t had any of your money in gold now might be the time to give it a look. The stock market might have a ways yet to go on the downside and having some of your money in gold might be smart. The key word is some of your money as it is never a good idea to have too much in one thing. If you put all or most of your money in one stock or in gold, that is akin to gambling.
Gold is desirable in hard times because it has never gone to zero. For thousands of years and countless civilizations, gold has always been sought after and considered valuable. Most famous of those civilizations were the ancient Egyptians who buried themselves with their gold. Nothing is guaranteed of course, but there have been many times when gold has not only been a safety play but it has outperformed other investments outright.
It could be asked why the cost of gold has not gone even higher than it has during this period of economic uncertainty. If you have had some gold, it will have most likely done better than your other investments but not as well as you might have though it would. This could be because other investors have had to cash in gold to pay off their other debts. When people sell gold that will help to lower the price.
If you want to buy gold you can buy the real thing, which is cumbersome to keep and protect, or you can buy something like gold stocks. Either way you have a stake in the gold market and will be hoping that gold continues to do well. Some people now do not trust any financial institution and they are hoarding gold coins and gold bars just in case a worst-case scenario unfolds.
Tags: economy, Gold, gold coins, investing, politics