Gold is considered a safe haven by investors in times of economic turmoil, whatever the cause. Whether through currency devaluation, surges of inflation or deflation or poor general economic performance, investors have a tendency to flock to gold. 

In early February when the scale of the global pandemic started to emerge with rising infection rates and deaths, gold prices began to rally in the UK.

Today, with the UK being one of the most drastically affected countries by virus, and many commentators predicting a second wave of infections, gold prices as of July 25th are
£1,419 per troy ounce, up from £1,280 on March 23rd, the day lockdown measures were enacted in the UK.

The market’s response to the uncertainty brought about by the lockdown was immediate, with the gold price rising by more than £70 in one day, from £1,280 to £1,351 per troy ounce. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, has recently predicted that the UK economy will have the highest contraction of all developed nations with the predicted GDP change year on year for 2020 forecast to be 11.5 per cent.

With gold prices retaining such value, now might the best time to invest in gold to store your wealth and guard your finances during these highly unstable times. But, if you are a first time investor in gold there are a number of things you need to know before making a crucial step for your future. 

Here are our top tips for investing in gold in 2020.

1. Gold is a safe investment in turbulent times – but remember nothing’s certain

As gold now shows its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has on countless occasions over the years around the globe, the most recent example being during protracted Brexit uncertainty.

In our March article, The Brexit Endgame and Gold, we reported that gold prices had risen 10 per cent since October 2019, as investors were becoming increasingly perturbed by the handling of the UK’s withdrawal negotiations from the European Union.

The precious yellow metal has also held value traditionally during times of recession, as investors use gold as a hedge, diversifying their portfolios with a variation of investment sources.

During the 2008-09 recession, dubbed the ‘Great Recession’, gold prices rose, showing this precious metal’s resilience to market downturns.

But historical performance is no guarantee of future prices. So do your research and understand the patterns, but remember, nothing is certain.

2. Gold investments can be Capital Gains Tax free

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is applied to the profit from the sale of an investment asset, and is often applied to the sale of gold. However, there are exceptions. Some gold and silver products are CGT-free, for instance UK legal tender gold and silver bullion coins. 

Gold Sovereigns minted in 1837 and later years and gold and silver Britannia coins are currency, but like Sterling are exempt from CGT. Our gold Half Sovereigns, gold Full Sovereigns, gold Britannia and silver Britannia coins are all CGT-free, which means you can maximise your investment potential when buying gold coins. 

Buy gold Sovereigns today.

3. Gold investments can be VAT free

Investment gold bullion and coins have been exempt from VAT in the EU since 2000. Platinum, Silver and Palladium bullion products, however are subject to VAT. This makes gold bullion and coin investments potentially more lucrative depending on your investment goals.

4. Track gold prices

By tracking gold prices you can bide your time until it’s the right moment to buy and sell gold to boost your investment. Our gold price tracker constantly updates the spot prices of precious metals; we take the prices from live feeds of precious metal markets around the world to give you the most up to date reflection of gold prices possible.

Prices are displayed in pounds, euros and dollars, these prices are expressed in grams and troy ounces, a common measurement of gold (31.1035 grams). 

The spot price of gold is the current value of gold, at which physical gold bullion can be purchased. This is calculated by the bids offered by professional traders all over the world.

5. Differences between gold bars, rounds and coins

Gold is available to purchase for investment purposes in bars, rounds and coins. The main difference between each type of gold for purchase is the relative size.

Gold coins come in various sizes, with most being similar to legal tender. They can weigh up to 1KG in some cases, however gold coins are always highly portable and easy sell in whatever quantity you need in a pinch.

Gold bars in contrast are much larger than coins. Although it is possible to buy gold bars in various sizes to allow the selling off of assets as needed, if you purchase just one high value bar, you’ll either be able to sell your entire investment or none at all. This can be a drawback of buying high value gold bars if you want to keep your portfolio flexible.

Rounds in appearance are very similar to coins, but crucially they aren’t legal tender.

6. Home delivery or secure storage?

If you have chosen the type of precious metal you wish to invest in and the product you think will best suit your investment decision, you have two choices to decide between: store it at home or in our secure storage facilities.

We offer free and fully insured delivery. Many of our investors choose this option as it allows them to keep their investment under their watch and close to hand.

When choosing home storage you should be aware that some gold items require storage in safes and surveillance under security systems in order for insurance policies to be approved. Installing such systems in your home can prove costly, and detract from your investment’s net value.

Choosing to entrust your items to fully-insured professional storage facilities, can mean lower cost storage. Storage costs apply, but are naturally low when measured against your investment value. Professional storage facility costs should be weighed against home storage costs before you come to a decision. 

Your choice might rest on the size and value of your portfolio, with smaller quantities being perhaps better suited to home storage. 

7. Understand the jargon

We have a guide on jargon busting in the precious metals investment market. Before investing you’ll need to fully understand terms like troy ounce, spot price and bull-run among others.

See our glossary of terms.

8. Choosing when to buy or sell gold

Choosing when to buy gold – as quite a stable investment compared to the stock markets –  is generally quite uncomplicated. Only very slight gains can be made by watching market fluctuations and buying when the market bottoms out. Over the life of your investment such small gains are fairly insignificant.

The decision of when to sell gold will be influenced by your financial requirements at the time. Before selling we advise our clients to watch the markets, it’s also worth speaking to a number of dealers to gauge their demand for gold and the prices they might offer.

9. How to buy gold from UK Bullion 

Start by browsing our catalogue of gold bars, coins and rounds. If you are ready to buy create a new user account or sign in. The next step is to add your items to the shopping cart, here you’ll need to be signed into our secure system to ensure your transaction is safe.

Now you can check out with a secure payment, once funds have cleared into our account your items will dispatched to your home or our storage facility.

10. Buy from a trusted seller 

We’re rated 5/5 by almost 500 customers on Trustpilot. We offer a Price Match Promise, if you find a product more competitively priced by another seller, we’ll match it if possible. We also offer free insured delivery on all orders, live price tracking and secure payments.