How to Invest in Metals
Commodities like gold, silver and other precious metals can be a valuable part of an investment portfolio. Metals provide an important hedge against inflation and market volatility, since these assets tend to rise when the economy and the stock market run into trouble.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Pick up a few quality financial publications like the "Wall Street Journal," "Barron's" and "Investors Business Daily." Look up the price of gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals.
-
2
Determine what percentage of your overall portfolio you want to dedicate to metals. It is never a good idea to keep all your eggs in one basket. Instead, build a diversified portfolio that includes not only metals but stocks, bonds and fixed income investments as well.
-
-
3
Open a brokerage account if you do not already have one. Log on to your account and go to the trading menu.
-
4
Enter an order for the ETF, or exchange traded fund, that represents the metal you wish to buy. For instance, the ETF that tracks the price of gold trades under the ticker symbol GLD, while the silver ETF has a ticker symbol of SLV.
-
5
Verify the amount of your trade, including the number of shares you wish to purchase and the cost of the commission. Verify that there is sufficient cash in your account, then click "Submit" to send the order.
-
6
Print out a copy of your trade confirmation and keep it with your tax records. You will need this trade confirmation to determine your capital gains liability when you sell your position.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit money, money, money image by easaab from Fotolia.com
