According to one study, 10.8% of the American population owns gold, and 11.6% own silver.
However, gold and silver aren’t the only precious metals that you can invest in.
Are you wondering how to invest in precious metals that will be a good investment? Keep reading to learn more!
How to Invest in Them
There are two main types of metals that you can invest in: precious metals investment products and physical precious metals.
Physical precious metals are things like coins, jewelry, and actual metals that you can hold as an investment. These metals could gain value as the price of that metal increases based on the market.
There are also precious metals investment products. These are investment products based on precious metals. That means it could be something like royalty companies, EFTs, mutual funds, or anything else that is based on a precious metal.
The investment will grow as the underlying metal grows.
To invest in these, you first need to find a vendor that will sell you a precious metal or open a bank account that lets you invest in precious metals investment products.
Make sure you do your research and find a reputable dealer. When you do, all you’ll have to do is exchange cash for the precious metal asset. If you want to sell it, you can just find another dealer who will give you a fair price for it.
Gold
Gold is one of the most popular metals in the world. It has industrial uses, but it also has a financial application.
Buying gold is popular because it has a high resistance to heat, conducts electricity, and is malleable. In the past, gold was also an ornamental metal that was used for jewelry, fabric, and other decorations.
Gold was also used as money, and the United States dollar was actually based on gold. With gold, the price goes up when there is a high demand for investment.
However, if people aren’t interested in investing in gold, the price will drop. The price is tied to the market, and normally when stocks do poorly, gold will do better. However, they’re not actually tied together.
Companies are still exploring and extracting gold from the world, but there is still only a limited amount of gold available, making it a rare commodity as well.
The price of gold will normally be based on how many carats it is. If you’re interested in knowing more about carats, learn more at RareMetalBlog.
Bullion
In addition to gold, silver is also a precious metal. However, the most common way to get gold or silver is to invest in bullion.
This is when gold and silver are turned into coins or bars.
The advantage to investing in this is that you’ll be investing in something physical. It’s also one of the easiest ways to invest in gold or silver, and it’ll give you a physical asset.
If you buy from a good vendor and keep it in a safe place, you’ll have a good investment. Even if you only own a few gold or silver coins, it’ll still be a physical investment that will be worth something.
It’s also good to have in times of economic or weather-related devastation. This is when physical assets will really come in handy.
Platinum
Platinum is what you will use to replace a catalytic converter in your car, and this is a very expensive metal.
These metals are unique because they’re also an oxidizer. This means that when carbon monoxide is released, the metal will add an oxygen molecule to make carbon dioxide.
The difference is that one of them is a safe gas and one is a deadly gas. However, like gold, there is only a limited amount of platinum, so this is still an expensive metal.
Palladium
Palladium and copper are precious metals that may not be as popular as the other ones.
However, there are still some suppliers that will sell these metals and let you invest in them.
ETF Products
ETF and ETN products are investments in precious metals that you can trade on the stock exchange. They’re tied to the price of precious metals, however.
The most popular ETF product is the GLD and IAU. These follow the price action of gold.
If you’re interested in silver, the SLV is the most popular one. PPLT follows the price of platinum.
However, some of these types of investments could still fall even if the price of metals rises. Some of these are based on other derivatives like futures and open contracts on precious metals.
This is why investing in these is best reserved for advanced investors.
Benefits of Investing in Precious Metals
One of the reasons to invest in these metals is that it can help lower your investment total and curb inflation.
In fact, precious metals normally rise at a rate that’s above inflation.
These metals can also be a great way to diversify your portfolio. The price movements don’t always go in the same direction as the stock, so it can help save your portfolio.
Learn More About How to Invest in Precious Metals
These are only a few things to know about how to invest in precious metals, but there are many other metals that you can invest in as well.
Are you looking for more investing for beginner tips? We have you covered.
Explore our website to find even more great articles just like this one to guide you through your investment journey.