Buying gold directly
You can buy gold directly in the form of bullion or coins. You will then hold onto physical quantities of gold, which can be sold at a later date. It can feel good to have gold actually in your possession, but you need to be careful with it. The biggest downside is that you will have to pay to have it insured or stored.
Buying shares in a gold company
You can also purchase stock in a company that produces gold. The value of the stock is going to be strongly correlated with the value of gold itself. You may also be paid dividends on your shares.
Gold futures and options
You can invest in gold through financial derivatives that specialize in gold investments like call and put options. A call is appropriate if you expect the value of gold to increase. On the other hand, you’d purchase a put if you expect the price of gold to drop. Like other derivatives, gold options and futures are risky; you have the potential to earn high returns or incur huge losses.
A gold ETF
A gold ETF is an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that specializes in investing in a range of gold securities. Such diversification can somewhat minimize your risk. Two popular gold ETFs trading on the market is the street tracks Gold Trust and the iShares COMEX Gold Trust.