Gold Investment
Are you wondering why and how to invest in gold? Our gold investment guide can help answer your most important questions on gold investing, such as which is the best form of gold to invest in, the current state of the gold bullion market and whether gold is a good investment for you to make.
In this gold investment guide, we explore why and when gold investing can be a good decision, and we compare the best ways to invest in gold. For buying physical gold with unequivocable ownership your options include coins or small bars and allocated gold bullion. Alternatively for gold exposure there are unallocated accounts, gold exchange-traded funds (gold ETFs or ETPs) or gold-backed stablecoin crypto tokens.
Using BullionVault you can benefit from the lowest costs for buying, selling and storing investment gold bullion. BullionVault is the world's largest online investment gold service taking care of $7 billion for more than 120,000 users.
Gold investment FAQs
The best way to invest in gold bullion will depend on the buyer’s resources, as well as their intentions. For example, gold coins and small gold bars are available, ranging in size from 1 gram upwards. But the cost per gram of these small units vary much more by manufacturer, weight, year and form than a 400 Troy ounce wholesale gold bullion bar.
Owning gold within Good Delivery wholesale bars, cast by LBMA-approved refiners and weighing around 400 ounces (12.5 kilograms), offers the best way to invest in gold if the buyer wants value, security and the ability to sell quickly for full value.
Stored and insured in specialist vaults, this large-bar gold comes with a warranty of quality and authenticity traced all the way back to the refiner. It enjoys the tightest trading price spread – the difference between price to buy and to sell – because of the highly liquid wholesale bullion market. BullionVault enables you to invest in gold in this wholesale form whilst also benefiting from incredibly low commission fees ranging from 0.5% down to 0.05%.
Choosing the best gold investment route will depend on the buyer’s resources and aims. A few gold coins or a small bar hidden at home needn't cost too much, but you will still need to arrange additional cover on your home insurance. Compared to wholesale investment gold, this route is also expensive by weight, reducing gains or worsening your losses if prices fall.
Owning gold within a Good Delivery bar, cast by an LBMA-approved refiner and insured inside market-recognized vaults, makes a safer and cost-effective way of investing in gold. Because the metal's quality and authenticity are warranted, and because the bars are traded in the highly liquid wholesale market, the price spreads (the difference between buying and selling prices) are very tight. Using BullionVault, commission fees are incredibly low ranging from 0.5% down to 0.05%.
Gold investing can be a good idea for spreading risk across a balanced portfolio. That's because the value of gold bullion has tended to increase when other investment assets fall over long periods of time.
Historical trends show that investing in gold has made a good if imperfect hedge against poor performance from currencies, shares, bonds and real estate. The idea is to reduce overall risk by using gold to diversify the portfolio's investments.
When investing in gold as a way to spread risk, also consider costs, security and simplicity. For more information on gold investment, keep reading this dedicated guide.
Gold bullion is viewed by many investors as a good way of hedging against risk as part of a balanced portfolio. This is because the value of gold has historically increased as cash, currencies, stocks and bonds lost value, helping reduce overall losses when other assets in an investment portfolio drop.
There are many different ways to invest in gold bullion. 400oz Good Delivery bars offer the most cost-effective product, because the deep, global market for these large units makes the price spread (the difference between buying and selling prices) tighter than for any other form of bullion.
Some analysts and advisors think investing in gold is a bad idea because it doesn't pay any income or interest. But gold bullion is more widely seen as a good alternative investment, hedging against risk as part of a balanced portfolio.
Historically, the value of gold has repeatedly increased when domestic currencies, stocks and bonds have performed badly over extended periods of time. This 'see-saw' performance isn't guaranteed however, and gold can fall alongside stocks and bonds during short-term crises.
Over longer periods, gold prices show a similar volatility to the stock market, and most investors using gold to balance risk from other portfolio assets should expect gold to underperform when the economy is growing and wider investment sentiment is positive.
Gold’s established history as a safe haven asset plus its deep global liquidity make it an attractive proposition for long-term investment.
Silver, meanwhile, is more of an industrial precious metal, with demand from electrical and electronics uses, plus photovoltaic solar energy, currently outstripping new mining supply. Because silver is much cheaper than gold by weight, it allows entry to the bullion investment market at lower price points but offers investors greater price volatility. That can bring both opportunity and risk.
Ultimately, the better option depends on your objectives: gold suits conservative wealth defense, while silver presents potential for greater returns (and losses) in more dynamic market conditions. BullionVault enables secure and low-cost access to the wholesale market for both precious metals.
Gold has long been regarded as a 'safe haven' investment, providing stability amid economic and political uncertainty. As a rare, physical asset, it cannot be created at will, and it doesn't rely on anyone else's financial performance for its value, making it very different to a bond or other debt investment. Physical gold can also be securely stored and insured offshore in a foreign country, further protecting its value for an investor concerned by economic or social risks in their home jurisdiction. However, gold pays no interest, and its price can rise and fall with market conditions.
Gold coins and small bars provide a simple route for physical gold ownership. However, wide spreads between buying and selling prices, plus an illiquid market and hidden costs such as shipping, mean that more savvy investors will find lower prices per gram with more transparent costs by investing via a vaulted gold provider such as BullionVault.
Gold can play a valuable part in investing for retirement, because it enables diversification of your pension portfolio and can provide a long-term store of value, especially during periods of economic or investment turbulence. Using BullionVault, investors can hold physical gold in tax-advantaged retirement accounts like IRAs.
Investing in 1 gram or 1 ounce of gold is possible and offers easy entry into the physical bullion market. BullionVault allows purchases as small as 1 gram, giving new investors direct ownership and secure storage. While small quantities let beginners and cautious investors participate, BullionVault recommends investing above $2,000 to avoid inefficiencies from its minimum storage fee, since very small holdings may incur relatively higher costs. For those seeking tangible assets and flexibility, starting small in gold is convenient, but larger investments will be more cost-effective over the long-term.
Why choose gold investing?
There are 3 main reasons why people invest in gold bullion: as insurance for their wider investments, to counter inflation, and because of its security as a physical asset.
Investment insurance: Gold prices have generally risen in extended periods of financial stress, when investors and wealth managers buy the metal to diversify and spread risk in their portfolio. So gold could make a good investment today if you think that stock markets, world trade, house prices or the value of your retirement savings are likely to lose value in the months or years ahead.
Inflation: Because gold is naturally rare, people often invest in bullion bars, coins or gold ETFs when consumer prices rise sharply, hitting the purchasing power of cash savings. Gold's role as an 'inflation hedge' has worked best when interest rates lag behind the pace of inflation. Gold investing prices rose 20-fold in the 1970s but fell again in the 1980s when interest rates were then hiked above inflation.
Security: Unlike stocks and bonds or even cash in the bank, physical gold owned as your personal property is an investment which no-one else's financial failure can take away. While you must ensure that it is safely stored and insured, history shows that gold has never devalued to zero. Today gold trades in a deeply liquid, truly global market where jewelry purchases often grow when investment demand slips, helping put a floor under prices.
If you're still thinking about gold investment, and you are rationalizing what can be a difficult decision, we recommend further reading before you invest in gold.
How to Invest In Gold
BullionVault allows you to pay wholesale-market prices for investment gold, with no sales tax and no delivery delays or costs. Using professional bullion vaults means you pay the lowest storage and insurance fees. BullionVault's live online platform lets you buy or sell 24/7 and instantly have funds back in your account, ready to be withdrawn, the moment you choose.
An additional benefit for BullionVault’s American users is that because their gold is in the form of large 400oz wholesale bars they can also hold it within an IRA as part of their retirement investments.
Is gold a good investment?
Gold is often recommended as a good investment because it can act as a form of insurance for wider portfolios, providing stability and protection when other assets like stocks and bonds face uncertainty or when inflation erodes the real value of currency.
While gold prices can fluctuate short-term, its long-term appeal as a safe haven remains strong, especially during geopolitical or economic crises, making it a popular choice for private investors, money managers and even central banks looking to diversify and preserve wealth.
What are the options for gold investment?
Because gold is a physical asset, the way you choose to invest in it raises questions you probably don't think about when buying financial assets like shares or bonds or picking a bank account.
- What form do you want your gold investment to take?
- Can you compare prices to get a good deal?
- Where's the best place to keep your gold?
- How will you store it?
- Will you need to buy insurance?
- How easy will it be to sell the type of gold you've chosen?
- Will you need to pay any tax when you buy or sell your investment in gold?
To answer all these points, this guide explains simple questions to consider, because making informed decisions today will make a big difference to your potential profits and protection from investing in gold.
Do you want to own your gold investment?
First, do you want to own gold as your personal property or will you be happy to just track the gold price by relying on a finance-industry product?
Gold ETFs go up and down with the price of gold. That's because these investments, broadly known as an exchange-traded product (gold ETP) or sometimes an exchange-traded commodity (gold ETC), are backed by the value of bullion held in a bank vault.
You buy and sell gold ETP shares using a stockbroker. Some ETCs are created as "debt linked to physical gold" while other trust funds own gold, and you then own shares in the ETF. Either way, you won't actually own any metal through a gold-backed ETP, yet you will be charged for its safekeeping.
Gold ETF fees range from 0.15% to 0.40% of your investment's value each year, charged by slowly reducing the quantity of gold backing each of your shares. Note that any gold ETF shares you buy probably won't belong to you either. That's because, just as with any other stock-market shares you hold in a 'nominee' account, your broker will be the direct owner.
An alternative to gold ETPs is so-called "unallocated" gold. Investing this way gives you the gains (or losses) from the value of gold belonging to a bank or a bullion refinery. Because you don't own the gold, you won't pay for its storage or insurance. Your investment, however, is exposed to the bank or refinery's financial survival, because you are one of their creditors. Technically speaking, you will be owed gold, rather than owning it.
How will you store your gold investment?
If you prefer the security of owning physical gold as your personal property, then the second step is to decide whether you want to keep your gold investment at home in your house, or will you use a specialist service to safeguard your bullion for you?
(.com) A decision to keep gold in your house will restrict you to buying 'retail' gold investment products. Whether as gold coins or small bars, these retail units can cost you significantly more than the value of their bullion content, and they will also return less than their bullion value when you sell. The gap between these purchase and sale prices, known as the 'spread', runs from 3-4% on gold kilobars (currently costing almost $135,000) through to 15% on some bullion coins.
Furthermore, hiding high-value assets in your house involves some difficult decisions around trust. You can't claim insurance on stolen gold if you didn't declare that you were holding it. But if you do declare that you are keeping gold at home, your insurers will probably demand that anything over a few thousand dollars-worth needs to be kept in an insurance-rated safe fitted by a professional. Your insurers will also likely raise the cost of your annual home insurance premiums.
One alternative is to rent a safe-deposit box, perhaps at your bank or with a company that provides lockers for storing your valuables. Prices vary widely, and you will also likely need to buy insurance for your investment gold on top.
It is also important to think about the work you will face when you decide to sell. Comparing prices when you buy gold coins or small investment bars is much easier than trying to shop around when you want to cash in. That's especially true if you're looking to bank the biggest gain you can when gold prices are high, because it's likely that lots of other gold investors will also be rushing to sell their coins or small bars at the same time. Retail coin and bar dealers swamped by supply will naturally cut the price they're willing to pay. You will also need to mail or carry your gold to the shop that's buying it from you, adding costs and risk again.
Retail or wholesale: What is the best way to invest in gold?
If you feel that the investment costs, hassle and risk of keeping gold at home or in a nearby safe-deposit box make this option less desirable, then you are freed from the need to buy only small bars or coins. No matter the size of your initial gold investing outlay, vaulted bullion in the form of large, wholesale bars is a viable option to consider. The comparison table below shows the relative advantages and disadvantages of different ways to invest in gold.
Gold investment options comparison table
* Paying a storage fee for the safe-keeping of physical assets has, in the past, been decisive in proving that an investor owned the property in law. So where no storage fee is charged, this evidence is lacking.
Benefits of investment in gold bullion
Investing in vaulted wholesale bullion carries three clear benefits over buying retail bars and coins.
Price: Large wholesale bars are the form out of which all other products are made, adding costs at each step of manufacturing, handling and distribution. For vaulted large-bar gold in contrast, trading spreads between buy and sell prices on BullionVault, the largest provider for private investment, run to 0.3% or less for as little as 1 gram at a time.
Liquidity: Because large bullion bars are the form out of which all other gold products are made, they are the units which the global wholesale market trades. Centered in London, with Zurich and New York among the other main hubs, this market turns over $100 billion or more in gold every day. It includes central banks, large gold dealers, specialist technology firms, jewelry manufacturers, ETF managers, bullion banks and sovereign wealth investment funds. BullionVault makes this market accessible 24/7, one gram at a time.
Security: Nowhere is safer for physical gold than a specialist bullion vault. Often sited within major airports to make international deliveries quick and safe, these vaults have armed response are rated so secure by the insurance industry that full cover costs a fraction of what you'd pay for insuring gold at home or in a safe-deposit box. On BullionVault, the cost of custody with insurance included runs as low as 0.01% of your investment per month ($4 per month minimum).
Is digital gold a good investment?
One development over the last 10 years has been so-called "gold-backed crypto", also known as "tokenized gold", "digital gold" or sometimes "gold-backed stablecoins". But do you own any investment gold through a gold-backed crypto stablecoin?
The 2 largest providers both define their product as "A digital token, backed by physical gold". Where anything is "backed" by gold, the investment is abstracted from the metal, which becomes a physical asset underlying a financial instrument. In this case, the investor owns the token, not the gold, and the token gains its value in the same way as unallocated accounts or gold ETPs are backed by gold but don't give you any ownership of physical metal.
Importantly, none of the largest gold-backed stablecoins charge any storage or insurance fees, again matching the position of unallocated gold. In those investment accounts, the buyer is owed gold and does not own any metal. More secure allocated gold must always carry storage and insurance fees, and those fees have in the past been decisive in proving true ownership of physical assets where an investor's title has needed confirming in law.
When is a good time to invest in gold bullion?
Gold bullion doesn't pay any interest or dividends. So as with any other physical asset, the biggest profits from investing in gold come from buying low and selling high.
Trying to time the very bottom and very top in gold prices, however, can mean missing out on valuable gains in the meantime, most especially if gold is rising as other investment assets such as shares or house prices are struggling.
Once you decide to buy gold, how can you plan your investment to get the best value? Precious metal prices change on a minute-by-minute basis in the global wholesale market. So it is impossible for anyone to know with 100% certainty when is the best possible time to buy or sell precious metals.
Diversification fixes this, whether for gold or any other investment. That's because savvy investors accept that future prices are unknowable, and so they replace the guess-work with a mix of investments. The proportions you choose for gold, shares, bonds and perhaps crypto will change as prices move up and down. So you simply need to rebalance your holdings, perhaps once a month or even just once a year, to return your investment portfolio to your intended split.
While 5-10% in gold is a common suggestion for a diversified investment portfolio, research by BullionVault has found that its users typically hold closer to 20% of their self-managed wealth in precious metals. That matches the proportion suggested by US investment bank Morgan Stanley's chief investment officer in 2025, who urged asset managers to replace the traditional 60:40 split between stocks and bonds with a 60:20:20 portfolio split between stocks, bonds and gold.
Investors looking to trade gold more actively will constantly monitor the gold price as well as global news, international markets and macro-economic activity, choosing to grow their holdings on a price dip or bank a little profit on a spike. For the majority of investors, in contrast, gold's primary appeal is as a form of long-term investment insurance for their wider portfolio, and over-trading can put any existing gains at risk.
What factors drive gold investment prices?
Upswings in gold prices have been driven by heavy investment demand, most of all from asset managers running large portfolios. Key moments likely to see gold investment rise like this include:
- When other investments start to lose value year after year
- When inflation increases faster than interest rates
- When your primary currency loses its purchasing power
- At times of economic uncertainty or political crisis
Because gold tends to perform well when other investments do badly, its price has tended to peak when economic sentiment hit rock-bottom. Such moments can make selling gold feel difficult, but if you are using gold to hedge against investment risk in other assets such as shares or bonds, then it makes sense to rebalance your holdings after significant price moves.
The fact that gold tends to 'zig' when other assets 'zag' also means that the very best time to invest in gold might be when economic sentiment is strongest and the precious metal isn't making headlines.
Who invests in gold?
With more than 120,000 users worldwide, BullionVault has a wide customer-base of people choosing to invest in gold, from all backgrounds and of all ages. It ranges from new investors starting with $130 and making small monthly purchases through to family offices wanting to own several millions-worth of secure, insured bullion held ready for sale at full value.
The most common gold holding on BullionVault builds to around $15,000 in total, usually through a series of investment purchases made over several years. Talking to investors, we believe that tends to represent 10% of the wealth they manage for themselves, not including their home or any employer-provided pension products. Because gold often helps act as a form of insurance for a wider portfolio, it makes sense to have something to insure – whether that is shares, bonds, real estate or a combination. However, anyone can get started with investing in gold with BullionVault.
How BullionVault enables you to invest in gold in a cheaper, safer and easier way
Launched in 2005, BullionVault now cares for $7.2 billion in client property for more than 120,000 users worldwide. It enables you to invest in gold in 1-gram increments, all physically allocated within securely-vaulted wholesale Good Delivery bars refined and cast by the specialist refiners approved by industry body the LBMA. Importantly, all gold belonging to BullionVault users is held by independent vaults. The company itself does not own or operate these facilities. Instead it uses specialist facilities, and that separation is vital for the Daily Audit, a unique process which proves your property is where it should be – in full – each day.
The Daily Audit takes the full Bar Lists from the independent custodians, and it publishes them for you to study alongside a full list of each client's holdings. The two totals match down to the last gram, showing that the investment bullion is fully allocated and eliminating the risk of 'double counting' (also known as 'under vaulting'). This proof can only happen because the client records are held by BullionVault and they are independent from the bullion bar lists.
The bar lists cannot be falsified, because the specialist custodians (Brink's, Loomis, Malca-Amit) see them posted in public on the Daily Audit. The client records cannot be falsified either, because each user also sees their investment holdings stated in public and can check that figure against the quantity they bought.
Your gold investment holding is anonymized on the Daily Audit, so that only you know which entry refers to your bullion. The whole process is also verified by BullionVault's external, independent financial auditors (Armstrong Watson), who examine the procedures, confirm the arithmetic, and check with each of the vault operators (and also the banks holding client cash) that they did indeed issue the bar lists and statements published on a random selection of dates.
The auditors also receive a further third-party report – a full tally count and physical examination of all the gold and silver bars held for BullionVault Clients – from expert assayers (Alex Stewart International). Bringing together all these independent documents (the client records, the bar lists and bank statements, plus the vault inspection report) the auditors then publish their scrutiny of the Daily Audit on their own website, a site which BullionVault couldn't hope to control.
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