Why Gold Matters: Everything You Need To Know

Gold. It's shiny, metallic, and melts easily into bars, coins, or jewelry. It doesn't rust, corrode, or decay. Gold is... well, golden. But why is gold so valuable, both in our mind's eye and in reality in terms of a global store of value and medium of exchange? Why is silver relegated to a distant second place, and what about poor old copper, which shares many of the same physical attributes as gold? Join us as we try to figure out the answers to these questions, and much more.

Key Takeaways

• In the articles that follow, we will take a look at gold's place in our monetary economy and try to uncover just why it's valuable and what role gold can play today in investor's portfolios.
• In fact, by some accounts, gold has never been more fashionable as an alternative investment, able to weather financial crises and hedge against the inflationary pressures of fiat currency.
• We will discuss the risks and opportunities of owning gold as an investment, how to try and make quick profits day trading it in the commodities market, what influences its price, and how to go about owning gold in your brokerage account.