Investing in gold goes mainstream. What should you do?
Monday, November 23rd, 2009In the past gold was often seen as an investment for those wackos on the fringe of investing that really liked to push some kind of commodity. Today those who have recommended and are recommending gold as an investment option for the mainstream public have become seen as much more “normal” by most in the investment community and even on Main Street. That tends to happen when gold prices hit all-time highs at levels such as $1,170 an ounce as they have in recent days. Gold has gone up by almost 400% in the last 10 years, so obviously buying gold in the last decade has been a good call.
Now we are seeing so many commercials about gold prices being at all-time highs and how you should sell your gold jewelry or gold coins to investors or stores. No doubt gold has become a hugely popular investment as the dollar loses value and gold is seen as the safe play for most investors. Gold tends to do well in times of economic trouble, and the last few years have definitely brought that. In addition, gold has benefited greatly from having such a weak dollar in the United States.
What should you do about investing in gold? Gold is a good solid investment option, but you always must remember that price definitely does matter. Remember if you are buying into gold now that you are buying at all-time highs. Investors need to be careful to make sure they don’t go jumping into crowded trades and get burned. One could argue that the gold trade is becoming quite crowded since it seems everyone is calling for investors to buy gold now. Always consider gold as a small portion of your portfolio to diversify yourself, but also make sure you don’t go too heavily into a market that could end up being driven by speculators and hurting a lot of everyday investors!