A Beginner's Guide to Buying Gold in 2025: The Ultimate Lazy Guide to Gold Investment

As international gold prices break through $4,300 per ounce, more and more young investors are paying attention to gold. In an era of rising economic uncertainty and increased volatility of traditional assets, buying gold has become a popular asset allocation choice for many. But for those new to gold investment, how should they get started? This article will quickly introduce you to the core knowledge of gold investing.

Why Put Your Money in Gold?

A Weapon Against Inflation

Prices are rising, but salaries are not keeping up. Keeping cash in the bank means purchasing power will decline year by year. The advantage of gold is that it can maintain value steadily over the long term.

Looking back at data from the past five years reveals the trend. After the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, global central banks flooded the economy with liquidity, fueling inflation expectations. At that time, gold was around $1,500, and by 2025, it surged above $4,000, an increase of over 100%. During the same period, many currencies depreciated due to policy changes, but gold’s value remained relatively stable.

Reducing Investment Portfolio Risk

If your assets are all in stocks or cryptocurrencies, market shocks can significantly reduce your wealth. Gold acts like an “insurance” for your portfolio.

Historically, every major crisis has driven buying in gold. For example, during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and recently due to increased trade policy uncertainties, gold hit new highs again. That’s why investment experts generally recommend allocating 5%-15% of assets in gold—to hedge risks without dragging down overall returns.

Diversifying Investment Tools

In the past, buying gold meant purchasing bars or coins, but now options are dazzlingly diverse. Gold savings accounts, ETFs, CFDs, futures—even small investors can participate. Especially with the advent of gold ETFs, trading gold has become as simple as buying and selling stocks. In 2024, the average daily trading volume of gold reached $227 billion, second only to the S&P 500, indicating very high market liquidity.

Psychological Comfort

Few talk about this, but it’s indeed important—holding gold can give a sense of psychological security. Even if you don’t plan to sell in the short term, seeing your holdings in gold or gold ETFs can bring peace of mind. Especially during financial turmoil, this “sense of security” itself has value.

Can Gold Truly Preserve Value? A Calm Perspective

Regarding gold’s ability to preserve value, there’s a common saying: “Buy gold when inflation is high, and your money won’t depreciate.” Theoretically, this is correct. As a physical asset and globally recognized precious metal, gold won’t depreciate like paper currency due to policy changes.

But reality is more complex. Warren Buffett once said that the value of gold is purely based on supply and demand; it doesn’t generate cash flow or dividends, so its investment value is limited.

From a historical perspective, gold has experienced two significant bull markets over the past 50 years, with most other periods being consolidations. During the same period, the stock market experienced several crashes, but its long-term gains far exceeded those of gold. Although gold has gained over 104% so far in 2024, which is impressive, over longer time horizons, its returns are not particularly outstanding.

The most common mistake for beginners is being scared by short-term fluctuations. The correct approach is to understand the nature of gold and choose the right investment tools to truly benefit from it.

Ways to Buy Gold? Analyzing Each Method

1. Buying Physical Gold

The most traditional and “tangible” method—purchasing gold bars, coins, or ingots. Available at banks, jewelry stores, pawnshops, very easy to access.

Advantages:

• Hard currency, globally recognized
• Clear long-term preservation function

Disadvantages:

• Poor liquidity; not easy to sell quickly
• High storage costs (safety deposit box fees, anti-theft measures)
• No interest income; profits depend solely on price appreciation
• Small investors may find one-time investment too large

Buying Tips: Prioritize gold bars and coins. When purchasing, be sure to verify brand, weight (99.99% purity), quality, and certificates, and choose reputable sellers. Avoid gold jewelry and commemorative coins, as they often sell at a premium and may be discounted when reselling.

2. Gold Savings Account (Paper Gold)

Also called “paper gold,” offered by banks as an electronic record service, with prices linked to spot gold. Investors can request to convert their account into physical gold for withdrawal at any time.

Advantages:

• Low investment threshold, starting from 1 gram
• Bank safekeeping, no worries about security
• Easy account opening

Disadvantages:

• Higher transaction costs
• No interest income
• Not suitable for frequent short-term trading

Investment Advice: Suitable for conservative investors wanting to preserve value without hassle. If you need frequent trading, costs may eat into profits.

3. Gold ETFs

Exchange-traded funds listed on stock exchanges, mainly composed of gold assets. The largest US gold ETF is SPDR Gold Shares (GLD.US); in Taiwan, there are ETFs like Yuanta S&P Gold Inverse 1 ETF (00674R.TW).

Advantages:

• Very low investment threshold
• Low trading costs
• Easy to trade like stocks, real-time trading
• Suitable for regular, dollar-cost averaging investments

Disadvantages:

• Limited to trading during stock market hours
• Managed by fund companies, incurring management fees
• No physical ownership of gold

Suitable for: Beginners’ ideal entry tool. No need for deep research—just choose large, liquid ETFs to participate.

4. Gold Mining Stocks

Investing in stocks of gold mining companies, such as Barrick Gold (ABX.US), Newmont Mining (NEM.US), Goldcorp (GG.US), etc. Open an account with a broker to trade.

Advantages:

• Low investment threshold
• Low transaction fees
• Potential for extra gains if the company performs well

Disadvantages:

• Stock prices can deviate significantly from gold prices
• Affected by company operations, management, and other factors
• Higher risk

Risk Reminder: Mining stocks are highly volatile; not recommended for beginners to hold in large quantities.

5. Gold Futures

Standardized contracts traded on exchanges, most notably US CBOT gold futures. Contract size is 100 ounces, with relatively high trading thresholds.

Advantages:

• Leverage allows high capital efficiency
• T+0 trading (some contracts) available around the clock
• Supports both long and short positions

Disadvantages:

• Contracts have expiration dates; rollover or closing needed
• More complex operation, higher learning curve
• Leverage can amplify losses
• Not suitable for beginners

Target Audience: Traders with some experience, willing to spend time studying short-term trading.

6. Gold CFDs

Contracts traded via forex brokers, usually based on XAUUSD (USD-denominated spot gold).

Advantages:

• Lowest trading threshold (from 0.01 lot)
• Simple and easy-to-understand rules
• T+0 two-way trading, no time limit
• Flexible leverage (typically 1x to 100x)
• Can trade multiple products (gold, forex, stocks, indices) within one account
• No rollover needed, flexible holding

Disadvantages:

• Leverage risk must be carefully managed
• Requires strong risk awareness and discipline

Best suited for: Small investors and short-term traders. With about $10, you can start a trade, but always use stop-loss and take-profit tools to control risk.

Quick Comparison: Gold Futures vs. Gold CFDs

How to Start Gold Investing? Practical Steps

Step 1: Assess Your Investment Goals

Are you aiming for long-term preservation or short-term gains? What’s your risk tolerance? Answering these questions helps you choose the right tools:

• Long-term preservation → Physical gold, gold savings account, gold ETFs
• Short-term trading → Gold CFDs, futures
• Balanced approach → Gold ETFs + small CFD experiments

Step 2: Choose Suitable Investment Tools

Based on your capital, trading frequency, and risk preference:

• Small capital, lazy to manage → Gold ETFs
• Want physical security → Physical gold or gold savings account
• Want to try short-term trading → Gold CFD (start with demo account)

Step 3: Analyze Market Environment

Gold prices are influenced by multiple factors:

• US dollar trend — Strong dollar weakens gold
• Interest rate policies — Rising rates pressure gold
• Inflation expectations — Higher inflation boosts gold
• Risk aversion — Market panic drives gold demand
• Geopolitical events — Wars, turmoil increase gold appeal

Continuously monitor these indicators to judge whether gold is entering the next upward cycle.

Step 4: Open Accounts and Place Orders

After selecting tools, open accounts with the respective institutions. For CFD trading, be sure to:

• Choose regulated, reputable platforms
• Practice with demo accounts first
• Start small, with low leverage in real trading
• Set stop-loss and take-profit levels, strictly manage risks

Long-term Tips for Gold Investment

If you keep watching gold prices fluctuate daily, your mood will swing with the ups and downs. The true value of gold investment lies in its long-term trend, not short-term volatility.

Historical observation shows that gold typically has a rough 10-year bull cycle, followed by a few years of correction. This rhythm largely depends on the global economy:

• Stock market turbulence, rising inflation, signs of recession → Gold rises
• Stable economy, booming stock market, rising interest rates → Gold remains subdued

Longer-term, there’s also the concept of “super cycles”—when the global economic structure undergoes major shifts (like emerging markets rising, resource demand surging), gold can experience continuous bull markets for over a decade. This tells us that even if short-term gold prices are volatile, the long-term trend is logical.

Advice for beginners:

1. Don’t watch every tick—focus on core indicators: USD, interest rates, risk sentiment
2. Progress gradually—start with ETFs or demo CFD accounts
3. Manage risks—use stop-loss, avoid over-leverage
4. Clarify your position—it’s an asset allocation hedge, not a get-rich-quick tool

Gold investment isn’t as complicated as it seems. Choosing the right tools, understanding market logic, and practicing good risk management can help even small investors steadily build wealth through gold.