IF you had bought a gold chain or bangle two decades ago, the value of that piece of jewellery would have appreciated multi-fold by now, as gold was then trading at only RM989 an ounce.

       A year ago, gold prices hit a historic peak of US$2,067.15 (RM8,721.30) an ounce. Gold is currently trading at the US$1,800 (RM7,594.20) range an ounce. It is anyone’s guess if it will hit US$2,000 (RM8,438) again soon.

       A gram of gold is worth about RM241.25. Reports said the price of gold had risen more than 330% from 2005 to 2020.

       Traditionally, gold is invested in the form of jewellery, coins and bars, and it often passed on from one generation to another as a family heirloom.

       Central bankers are also net buyers of gold as it has been an important component in the financial reserves of nations for centuries. Globally, central bankers hold more than 35,000 tonnes of gold, which is about a fifth of all the gold ever mined, a report said.

       With increasing sophistication in the financial markets, gold is considered an alternative investment to equity, fixed income and unit trust.

       You can even buy investment-grade gold from jewellers or by having a gold investment account at banks, invest in gold mining and jeweller stocks, buy into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and even bet on gold futures. Gold futures are also traded on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives. Trading in digital gold is also an option.

       Traditionally, gold is invested in the form of jewellery, coins and bars, and it often passed on from one generation to another as a family heirloom.g

       “Gold has been a source of wealth and a highly sought-after safe haven asset for centuries. Gold investment can be used to hedge against inflation and act as an investment diversifier for customers,’’ Maybank Islamic Bhd head of community banking Azzady Jamaludin said.

       He said “gold behaves differently (from other asset classes and) during a recession, the value of gold tends to increase as people turn to it as a safe investment option.’’

       “Individual investors have also been moving money into gold on a large scale during the first six months of this year. We saw the momentum in the Maybank Islamic Gold Account or MIGA-i when it was launched in April 2021,’’ Azzady added.

       The weight of gold is measured in ounces, and its purity is in carats.

       If you want to buy this precious metal in its physical form you can do so from jewellers. You can even design the type of jewellery you want.

       Besides that, some of these jewellery stores sell gold coins, bars and nuggets.

       Just make sure you get the right purity and keep the certification in case you need to sell it later.

       However, financial planners will tell you that physical gold may be expensive to store and poses security challenges.

       Then, there are purity concerns, and it may take time to liquidate gold investments into cash if you are in dire need of cash.

       Moreover, it does not generate any interest or dividends.

       You can also buy and invest in 999.9 purity gold via financial institutions without having to store the gold yourself. You can redeem it for cash, or for real gold at any time. The minimum weight often sold is one gram but you need to open an account with the respective financial institutions.

       Several banks, including Maybank, CIMB Bank, Public Bank, HSBC, Kuwait Finance House and UOB, offer such services.

       “You can appoint a bank to act as an agent to find, arrange and pay a third party (security vault service provider) to safe keep the physical gold (bars) that you have purchased from the bank,’’ said Azzady.

       This month, U Mobile via its wallet-GoPayz formed a collaboration with gold bullion trader ACE Capital Growth to launch GoGold. It enables users to buy and sell digital gold and the minimum investment is only RM5.

       There are several digital trading platforms available to sell and buy gold, but be mindful to only trade with reputable organisations.

       Investing in gold has its benefits but if you have gold bars and find them hard to sell, Azzady said you are allowed to sell back your physical gold bars at selected Maybank Islamic branches.

       Nevertheless, there are certain conditions that must be met, and the sale price is at the prevailing bank’s buying price.

       Whatever your choice, gold is said to be an asset class for consideration when accumulating wealth as gold works best as part of a diversified portfolio. However, its dramatic rise the past decade does not guarantee there will be such spikes in its price in the future.