| There are many ways to invest in gold. Unlike other | | | | stock trading but you can learn futures trading by |
| physical commodities, gold can be stored to have its | | | | paper trading it first. The most popular futures contract |
| value preserved or increased over time. One | | | | is the COMEX Gold Futures. These futures contracts |
| investment method unique is to buy it. You can buy | | | | get traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange |
| gold bars, bullion and coins and store them in a safe | | | | (NYMEX). COMEX Gold Futures are the most liquid |
| place as an investment. No other commodity gives | | | | gold contracts in the world. There are some traders |
| you this unique opportunity. Try to buy coal, crude oil or | | | | who are specialists in trading gold futures. |
| copper and store it! | | | | The other gold futures contract is the Chicago Board |
| One of the easiest ways to invest is to buy gold coins. | | | | of Trade CBOT Mini-Gold contract. This is a mini |
| Gold coins are better than gold bars as you can buy | | | | contract as a the name implies and allows retail |
| or sell them in smaller units. Most popular gold coins are | | | | traders or small investors to trad it. This contract gets |
| the Gold Eagle (issued by the US Government), Gold | | | | traded electronically on CBOT electronic trading |
| Maple Leaf (issued by the Royal Canadian Mint) and | | | | platform. Something good! This means that you can |
| Gold Krugerrand (issued by South African | | | | easily trade this contract. It is same as trading a regular |
| government). | | | | contract though the contract size and the margin |
| In many countries, people buy gold jewelry for the dual | | | | requirements may be small. If you are afraid of trading |
| purpose of adornment and investment. Now, gold | | | | gold futures, no problem, don't worry! You can invest in |
| certificates are a hybrid instruments that allow you to | | | | gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). The most |
| own physical gold without actually taking possession of | | | | popular gold ETF is the StreetTracks Gold Shares. |
| it. As the name implies, these certificates certifies that | | | | The other one is the iShares COMEX Gold Trust. Both |
| you own a certain amount of gold which is usually | | | | are almost similar as both these ETFs track the spot |
| stored in a safe location on your behalf by the | | | | prices of the gold so you can invest in any one of |
| authority that who issues the certificate. | | | | them. |
| Trading gold futures contract is what I like. Futures | | | | Another method to get exposure to the gold is by |
| trading is interesting. You can profit from the volatility in | | | | investing in gold mining companies. A few popular gold |
| the underlying assets. Futures trading is one of the | | | | mining companies are Barrick Gold Corporation, |
| direct methods to profit from the volatility in the gold | | | | AngloGold Ashanti Limited and other. Newmont Mining |
| market. But you need to know how to trade futures | | | | Corporation is one of the largest gold mining |
| contracts if you want to do it. Futures trading is not | | | | companies in the world! |
| difficult. There are some differences as compared to | | | | |