You want gold exposure as an inflation hedge but don't know whether to buy physical metal, an ETF, or miners.
Best for: tail-risk hedging, generational wealth, and people who want to physically hold an asset that has zero counterparty risk. Worst for: short-term trading or anyone who can't store it safely. Premium over spot: 3-7% for coins, 2-4% for bars over 10 oz.
Best for: liquid exposure inside a brokerage account. GLD has 0.40% expense ratio and the highest volume; IAU is 0.25% and cheaper for long-term holds; SGOL holds physical in Swiss vaults if you want non-US custody. None give you physical metal — they're paper claims on a trust.
Senior miners (NEM, GOLD) move 2-3x gold price. Juniors (smaller-cap explorers) can 5-10x but most go to zero. Royalty companies (FNV, WPM, RGLD) are the sweet spot — exposure with lower geological risk.
Conventional allocation is 5-10% of net worth. Inflation-hedge advocates push 15-25%. Goldbugs go higher; that's a values choice, not a financial one.
Sales over $10,000 cash trigger Form 8300; certain coins (1 oz Krugerrand, 1 oz Maple) trigger 1099-B. American Eagles and most fractional bars do NOT.
Home safe (best for under $25K), bank safe deposit box (not insured by FDIC), or insured private vault (Brinks, Loomis, IDS Delaware). Never store at the dealer you bought from.
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