Recently, I’ve noticed that more and more people are discussing gold investment—especially when geopolitical tensions are high and inflation concerns keep building up. To be frank, gold’s appeal as a safe-haven tool has indeed been rising. However, many people are still a bit unclear about how to invest in gold. They often think it’s only possible to buy physical gold and keep it at home. Actually, that’s not the case. There are far more channels for gold investment than you might imagine, and the costs, risks, and returns of each approach can differ quite a lot.

Let’s first talk about why buying gold now is worth considering. Over the past few years, gold prices have gone through plenty of fluctuations. Between 2022 and 2023, they swung between 1700 and 2000 USD, mainly driven by geopolitical conflicts and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. But starting in 2024, things changed. As expectations for US interest rate cuts heated up and global central banks reached record-breaking gold purchases, gold prices kept breaking to new highs. In 2024, the global central banks’ net gold purchase volume reached 1045 tons. For three consecutive years, it exceeded 1,000 tons, directly supporting gold prices to break through 2700 USD. By September 2025, gold prices had already surged past 3700 USD, and Goldman Sachs’ target price for mid-2026 is 4000 USD. That said, it’s important to be clear: the factors affecting gold prices are complex, and it’s actually very difficult to predict short-term trends. The key is to find a good entry point—don’t regret it later just because you waited until prices went up.

So, should you buy physical gold or not? It depends on your investment goals. If your aim is long-term value preservation and protection against inflation, physical gold does have its value. But physical gold has a problem: it’s not an income-generating asset. Once you buy it, you still need to spend money on storage, and liquidity is also not great—you often face the awkward situation of “easy to buy but hard to sell.” On top of that, costs such as transaction fees, storage fees, and tax reporting reduce investment efficiency, which isn’t that high. However, if what you want is simply to hold real gold in your hands, then that’s a different story.

When it comes to physical gold, Taiwan Bank is a relatively reliable choice. Taiwan Bank is the only bank in Taiwan that offers physical gold buying and selling. Gold bars start from 100 grams, with options of 250, 500 grams, and 1 kilogram. Purity is the key—don’t be misled by flashy “illusion gold bars.” Those often come with especially high negotiating prices. If you want to buy smaller quantities, jewelry stores or pawnshops can also work. It mainly comes down to purity and price.

Besides physical gold, there are even more convenient options. A gold passbook is what people call “paper gold.” The bank keeps the gold for you, and you only need a passbook—you don’t need to hold physical assets. Taiwan Bank, CTBC Bank, First Bank, and Hua Nan Bank all provide this service. You can buy with New Taiwan Dollars or foreign currencies, and there are also dual-currency gold passbooks available. The handling fees are at a moderate level, but if you buy and sell frequently, the costs will add up significantly—so it’s best not to operate too often.

Next up, a gold ETF is also a good option. In the Taiwan market, there’s 00635U; in the US market, there are GLD and IAU. The investment threshold is low, liquidity is good, and it’s convenient to buy and sell. The downside is that you can only go long, not short, so you can’t hedge by shorting. You also need to pay attention to fees, including management fees, trading commissions, and possible currency exchange costs. But for beginners and retail investors looking to invest long term, it’s quite suitable.

If you want higher returns and are willing to take market risk, then gold futures and gold CFDs are worth considering. Both track international gold prices and allow for two-way trading—you can go long or short. Futures have expiration dates and require delivery and position rollover, but overseas futures brokers are essentially open for trading 24 hours a day, with better liquidity. CFDs are more flexible: there’s no expiration date, the minimum margin requirement is lower, and you may be able to start trading with an initial capital of only a dozen or so US dollars.

The difference between futures and CFDs is that futures have a fixed contract size and trading fees, while CFDs do not—so the entry threshold for CFDs is indeed lower. But both involve leverage risk. When you make a profit, leverage amplifies the gains; when you suffer losses, leverage also amplifies the losses. These kinds of short-term trading methods are suitable for investors who have trading experience and can quickly judge market direction.

In the end, the way you invest in gold depends on your investment strategy. If you want long-term preservation of value and protection against inflation, consider physical gold or gold ETFs. If you want to profit from price spreads and do short-term trading, gold futures and CFDs are more efficient. Gold prices do fluctuate a lot—especially when the economy is uncertain and geopolitical tensions are high—but precisely because of that, gold is widely allocated in institutional investors’ portfolios. A general recommendation is for gold to account for at least 10% of your total investment as a hedge.

Now, the global gold trading market is huge, and the market can quickly reflect systemic risk events—so it’s easy to see sharp rallies and sudden sell-offs. After the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, gold prices surged to 2069 USD. Recently, they also broke above 3700 USD to set a new high. These swings can be opportunities for short-term traders, but they are also a warning signal for long-term investors. No matter which method you choose, the key is to find an entry point that fits you—not to be led around by market sentiment.