Gold or Silver: Which Is a Better Investment?

10.8% of the American population owns gold, 11.6% owns silver, and 6.5% own both. These precious metals make beautiful pieces of jewelry, and they’re also a valuable investment opportunity.

Adding precious metals helps diversify your portfolio. This helps protect you against changes in any part of it, such as a fall in the value of the dollar.

The benefits are clear, but the difficult part is choosing which metal to invest in. Read on to learn how to decide between gold or silver.

Gold

Gold is less volatile than silver. The price doesn’t change as often because it remains valuable and in demand.

Gold isn’t as affected by economic decline because it has fewer industrial uses compared to silver. 50% of it is used in jewelry, 37% in electronics, 8% in coins, and 5% in other capacities. As long as the jewelry market is thriving, you’ll benefit from having gold in your portfolio.

Gold also has greater liquidity, meaning that it’s easier to trade without impacting the market. The demand remains high, no matter how often anyone chooses to invest in gold.

Gold may be more expensive to obtain, but it’s easier to store than silver.

3 Olympic-sized swimming pools are enough to store all the gold ever mined in the entire world. Silver is denser and tarnishes more easily, taking up more space and requiring more specialized facilities.

Gold is a less risky investment opportunity than silver. It also isn’t correlated with stocks and other asset classes, making it a more powerful portfolio diversifier.

Go to raremetalblog.com/24-interesting-facts-about-gold to learn more about one of the world’s most popular precious metals.

Silver

New investors may choose silver as the first precious metal in their portfolio because it’s more affordable and abundant.

You can use gold or silver if you’re looking for an inflation hedge. They both tend to increase in value when the value of the U.S. dollar falls, a problem that will also affect your other investments.

What you have to keep in mind is that silver is better in this area because it has a wider range of uses that keep demand high.

Its industrial uses make its demand and value higher. It shows up in a range of industries; 35% in electronics, 25% in coins and medals, 10% in photography, 6% in jewelry and silverware, and 24% in other areas.

This may keep demand high, but it also presents more risk for investors. If any of these markets tanks, the value of your silver investments will as well.

Should I Invest in Gold or Silver?

Gold or silver may be the first 2 precious metals you think of when investing.

There are several factors to look at before you choose one or the other. Consider volatility, liquidity, availability, and storage.

Gold is a more expensive metal, but investing in it is less risky because its value is relatively stable and it’s easier to store. Silver is cheaper with higher demand but is harder to store.

Read the rest of our content for more advice on how to invest in precious metals or real estate and add other valuable entries to your portfolio.

Read Also:

• A Guide to Storing Gold Bullion

• A Guide To Gold & Silver Markets At This Time