How to Play Gold as a Long-Term Investment Using ETFs

It seems that gold may finally be getting its mojo back. With global growth starting to slow, worries abroad beginning to make themselves known, and cracks in the U.S. starting to form, gold could very well be getting its shine back. The yellow metal is considered the ultimate hedge against market volatility and disaster thanks to its store of value and precious nature. Already as the markets have swooned this year, gold prices, when measured in non-dollars, have risen. If the markets see another Lehman Brothers-style event, which could happen given some of the data starting to bubble up, then gold should pop upwards. Which is exactly why you hold it as a diversifier. Secondly, gold does well in periods of inflation. And while that hasn’t happened yet, some analysts still are pointing to the billions in easing programs that are undergoing in many nations. Those monetary programs have the potential to create big-time inflation down the road. At the end of the day, adding some gold to your portfolio may not be such a bad idea considering just how long the bull market has raged. And the easiest way happens to be through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Here’s how to do it.