2025 Gold Investment Beginner's Guide: Starting from Zero to Master Gold Trading

International gold prices have been soaring, surpassing a historic high of $4,300 per ounce as of October 2025. For many young investors, this rally has sparked interest in gold investment. However, in the current uncertain global economic climate with high inflation, is buying gold truly worth it? How should one buy? This article will provide a comprehensive analysis.

Why has gold investment become popular now?

Hard asset for value preservation and inflation hedge

In recent years, central banks worldwide have issued大量貨幣 to stimulate the economy, leading to continuous price increases. In early 2020, gold was about $1,500, and by November 2025, it soared to $4,000, an increase of over 104%. This is no coincidence—when the purchasing power of paper money declines, tangible assets like gold become safe havens for investors.

Rather than letting cash depreciate, it’s better to allocate part of your assets into gold with strong value preservation capabilities. This is why gold investment is particularly effective against inflation.

Diversifying portfolio risks

Putting all your funds into stocks or cryptocurrencies is too risky. History shows that during stock market crashes or geopolitical tensions, gold often rises against the trend. For example, after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in 2022, gold prices surged significantly in the short term; recently, uncertainties in US tariffs have also driven gold to new highs.

It is recommended to allocate 5%-15% of your assets in gold to hedge risks without dragging down overall returns.

More flexible and diverse trading methods

No longer limited to buying gold bars. Today, investors can participate through gold savings accounts, ETFs, futures, CFDs, and more, especially suitable for small investors. In 2024, the daily trading volume of gold reached $227 billion, second only to the S&P 500 index, indicating ample market liquidity.

Is gold investment truly a good store of value? What is the reality?

Theoretically, as a tangible asset and globally recognized precious metal, gold does not depreciate like paper currency due to policy changes. However, in reality, gold’s ability to preserve value is not linear, and short-term returns are not guaranteed.

Billionaire Warren Buffett has criticized gold investing, arguing that gold itself does not generate cash flow and its value depends entirely on supply and demand. This perspective is worth considering—gold cannot generate dividends like stocks.

Looking over the long term, gold prices have experienced two clear bull markets in the past 50 years, with most other periods remaining stable. During the same period, stock markets have experienced multiple crashes, while gold remained relatively stable. This tells us that the core value of gold investment lies in defense rather than offense.

Beginners should not be frightened by short-term fluctuations. Understanding gold’s characteristics and choosing the right strategy are key to successful trading.

What are the channels for gold investment?

1. Physical gold: Traditional but least convenient

Directly purchasing gold bars, coins, etc., can be done at banks or jewelry stores. This is the oldest method and provides psychological satisfaction. But the disadvantages are obvious:

• High storage costs and risks
• Limited buyers (banks only buy gold bars and coins)
• Poor liquidity, difficult to quickly liquidate
• High entry barrier for small investors

It is recommended to buy gold bars or coins and be cautious with gold jewelry. Before purchasing, ensure purity is 99.99%, verify certificates, and check merchant reputation.

2. Gold savings account: Low threshold but higher costs

Also called paper gold, it records gold holdings on paper, with prices linked to spot gold. Investors can buy and sell at banks without worrying about storage.

Its advantage is low starting point (from 1 gram), making it accessible. The downside is relatively high transaction costs, no interest income, and it’s not suitable for short-term trading.

3. Gold ETFs: The best choice for small investors

Listed on stock exchanges, these are open-ended funds that investors can trade like stocks. The world’s largest gold ETF is the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD.US), and in Taiwan, there’s the Yuanta S&P Gold Inverse ETF (00674R.TW).

Gold ETFs have low investment thresholds, low fees, and are easy to operate, making them very friendly for beginners. Note that trading is limited to market hours.

4. Gold mining stocks: High potential returns but volatile

Invest directly in gold mining companies, such as Barrick Gold (ABX.US) or Newmont Mining (NEM.US). These stocks are related to gold prices but not perfectly correlated, influenced by company management, shareholder structure, and other factors. Their tracking deviation is higher, so they are less suitable for pure gold investment.

5. Gold futures: High leverage but complex rules

Gold futures contracts are traded on US exchanges, requiring traders to close or roll over positions within a certain period. Even with micro futures options, the minimum is still a few hundred dollars, and the contract rules are complex with high trading thresholds, making them not very suitable for beginners.

Advantages include leverage, T+0 trading all day, and two-way trading; disadvantages are the need for delivery or rollover, high leverage risk, and the requirement for trading skills.

6. Gold CFDs: Flexible short-term trading tools

CFDs (Contracts for Difference) track spot gold prices, with the underlying asset being XAUUSD. Compared to futures, CFDs have simpler rules, lower thresholds, support small lots (e.g., 0.01 lot), T+0 two-way trading, and usually no expiration date, avoiding rollover issues.

For investors experienced in stock trading, gold CFDs are relatively easy to start. However, be cautious with leverage and always set take-profit and stop-loss levels to manage risk.

Gold futures vs. Gold CFDs: Which to choose?

How to start trading gold investment?

Choose a reliable broker

When selecting a platform, focus on three points: trading costs (commission/spread), transparency of trading rules, and platform security. Ensure the broker is properly licensed and regulated, offering competitive trading conditions.

Register an account and practice with demo trading

Before depositing real money, be sure to practice with a demo account. Most brokers offer free demo funds (usually over 50,000), allowing you to experience real-time gold trading, familiarize yourself with the order interface, and test trading strategies. It’s recommended to start with small amounts and low leverage to gradually build trading experience.

Analyze the market before placing orders

Gold prices are driven by multiple factors, including inflation, central bank policies, market sentiment, and economic trends. Traders can use technical indicators (like gold-silver ratio, gold-oil ratio), macroeconomic data analysis to judge price movements. When placing orders, flexibly choose market or limit orders, and adjust leverage according to risk tolerance.

Important reminder: Leverage amplifies both gains and losses. Beginners should use it cautiously and set reasonable take-profit and stop-loss points.

Long-term tips for gold investment

Watching gold prices fluctuate daily can easily lead to emotional traps. The long-term trend of gold actually follows certain patterns—roughly every 10 years, a bull market occurs, interspersed with correction periods.

These cycles are closely related to economic conditions, US dollar strength, interest rate trends, and global risk sentiment. When stock markets fluctuate, inflation rises, or economic outlooks are uncertain, gold tends to be in demand; otherwise, it may not.

On a longer scale, structural changes in the global economy (such as rapid growth in emerging markets and surging resource demand) can trigger “super cycles”, leading to continuous gold bull markets lasting over a decade.

Advice for beginners: Don’t obsess over daily gold price movements. Just monitor the three key indicators—US dollar, interest rates, and risk sentiment—to roughly judge whether gold is entering the next upward cycle.

Small investors can participate through gold savings accounts, ETFs, or online trading platforms, starting with demo accounts to reduce risk. Short-term traders choosing gold CFDs should pay attention to leverage and risk management to avoid losses caused by blindly following the trend.

The core of gold investment is not about getting rich quickly but about steady allocation and long-term preservation.