Introduction to key points:

1. In recent years, domestic gold investment varieties have become more and more abundant.

2. Private gold investment usually adopts physical gold investment.

Gold culture is an indispensable ancient culture in China. Speculation in gold was once a common investment method in old China. In 1930s and 1940s, Shanghai was the financial center of the Far East, which was known as "the gold of the whole world gathered here". It was only after the control of gold that the development of gold investment was restricted. In recent years, gold investment is in the ascendant, and the investment varieties are becoming more and more abundant.

So, what kind of gold can investors trade in China?

Generally speaking, the types of domestic gold investment are basically the same as those in the world, including gold bars (blocks), gold coins, gold management accounts, gold certificates, ornaments, gold futures, gold options, gold stocks and gold funds. For example, the varieties of spot gold Au99.99 and Au99.95 provided by Shanghai Gold Exchange, and the spot deferred trading Au(T+D) and gold account products provided by state-owned banks are also called paper gold. In 2003, China Bank launched Huang Jinbao (personal company gold trading business) and China Industrial and Commercial Bank launched gold experts.

Specifically, it includes the following investment varieties.

One is the physical gold developed by commercial banks and their own agents.

Commercial banks act as agents for the physical gold bars of gold companies. Commercial banks use their own advantages to sell physical gold with bank outlets as sales windows. For example, the "Gaosaier" investment gold bar represented by China Merchants Bank; "Long Jinding" of China Construction Bank; ICBC's "gold connoisseur".

The main forms of physical gold in the gold spot market are gold bars and nuggets, as well as gold coins, gold medals and jewelry. Gold bars include low-purity placer gold and high-purity strip gold, and generally weigh 400 ounces. In order to standardize the trading behavior on the floor, realize the internationalization of pricing and settlement, and standardize settlement and delivery, the gold market requires that the trading standard materials entering the market must be refined into bars according to the specified shape, specifications, fineness, weight and other factors, which is the standard gold. Standard gold is the investment variety of individual investors in China.

In physical gold trading, market participants mainly include gold producers, refiners, central banks, investors and other demanders. Among them, gold traders buy and sell in the market, brokers earn commissions and spreads from them, and banks finance them.

Private gold investment usually adopts physical gold investment. Usually, private investors invest in gold by buying physical gold. There are many ways: First, buy gold nuggets with fineness above Au95 in some gold-producing areas. This way, the price is relatively low, the gold content is not standard, and the procedure for determining the gold content at the time of sales is complicated. Second, most gold investors outside the gold producing areas invest by buying jewelry, and the income is much lower than that of gold bars. There are also some people who invest in gold coins, which have high long-term value and small investment income. It is feasible to invest in gold bars and bullion. Although gold bars and nuggets will also charge investors a certain production and processing fee, this fee is generally relatively low. Only some commemorative gold bars and nuggets will have higher processing costs. Gold bars and nuggets are very mobile. Generally speaking, they can be bought and sold easily anywhere in the world. Transaction tax is not levied in most areas, which is simple and easy to operate and has considerable profits.

The second is the paper gold developed by commercial banks.

"Paper gold", that is, gold certificate, is a unique kind of gold investment in China financial market. It takes banks as gold market makers, and investors establish gold trading relations with banks. However, it is necessary to trade gold quoted by the market maker-bank, that is to say, the buying and selling price of gold should be decided by the bank, and investors can only buy and sell gold at the market maker's quotation. Of course, banks here will not make random quotations, and banks will take internationally accepted and authoritative gold quotations as the basis for setting gold prices, and appropriately add the spread of bank profits. The price difference is the difference between the buying price and the selling price at the same time. The buying price of investors at the same time is higher than the selling price, and the difference between them is the income of bank market makers. Usually, the spread of banks is 0.8 yuan RMB per gram, and the spread set by banks is different. The transaction does not involve real money and silver, but is a service provided by the bank and an account with precious metals as the unit. At present, there are only three banks that can trade paper gold in China, namely Bank of China, ICBC and CCB.

Third, gold stocks and gold funds.

Gold shares, also known as shares of gold mining companies, refer to listed or unlisted shares issued by gold mining companies to the public. Gold fund is a kind of mutual fund, which uses gold or gold derivatives as investment medium to obtain investment income. Gold funds are divided into open-end funds or closed-end funds.

Fourth, the gold account.

Gold account refers to a gold investment method provided by commercial banks for investors. When an investor opens a gold account, it is only used for the book receipt and payment records of gold transactions in the account. The gold in the account cannot be transferred or cashed, and no interest is paid. The transaction price directly refers to the 24-hour rolling quotation of the three major international gold markets. There is no handling fee for the transaction, but a spread. Convenient and quick, easy to operate, no need to keep the real thing, which greatly reduces the investment cost, but can earn rich profits in the gold bull market. Suitable for ordinary gold investors to participate.

Fifth, gold futures, gold options and forward gold trading provided by international gold traders.

These investment varieties can enlarge the capital by 30-60 times, but the profits and risks are shared. At present, there is no such variety in the domestic gold market. With the national supervision of the gold market and the introduction of relevant policies, these varieties will gradually open up.

Sixth, the spot trading of professional gold companies is delayed.

With the Shanghai Gold Exchange as the final trading platform, we will provide investors with a convenient gold investment platform by using our own brand gold, convenient gold circulation system and professional gold investment technology. Sign gold sales contracts with customers, cash in kind and delay transactions coexist, strictly perform the contracts, and earn service fees.

Spot deferred trading is trading in the form of margin. Before there was a trading platform for gold futures and gold options in China, margin trading was used as a substitute. At present, there are both gold futures margin trading and gold spot margin trading in the world gold trading.

Margin trading means that in the gold trading business, market participants only need to pay a certain percentage of the price according to the total amount of gold trading as a performance guarantee for the physical delivery of gold. Gold margin trading means that in the gold trading business, market participants do not need to allocate full funds for the traded gold, but only need to pay a certain proportion of the price according to the total amount of gold transactions as a performance guarantee for the physical delivery of gold.

This product is very suitable for domestic personal investment. There are two types of margin trading: Au(T+5) and Au(T+D).

Au(T+5) transaction refers to the installment payment with a fixed settlement period of 5 working days (including the trading day). The buyer and the seller set up a sales contract with a certain proportion of deposit (65,438+0.5% of the total contract amount). The contract cannot be transferred, only a new warehouse can be opened. The net position of an expired contract, that is, the position of a sales contract with the same delivery period, must be delivered in kind. If one of the buyers and sellers breaches the contract, the other party must pay a penalty of 7% of the total contract amount. If both parties breach the contract, both parties must pay 7% penalty to the Gold Exchange.

Au(T+D) transaction refers to the immediate deferred delivery business conducted by margin. The buyer and the seller establish a sales contract with a certain percentage of deposit (65,438+00% of the total contract amount). Unlike Au(T+5) transaction, the contract does not need physical delivery, and buyers and sellers can buy and sell the held contract according to market changes. During the holding period, there will be a delay fee of two ten thousandths of the total contract amount every day (the payment direction depends on the situation of the delivery declaration on the same day, for example, if the customer holds a purchase contract and the delivery declaration on the same day is that the received quantity is more than the delivered quantity, then the customer will get a delay fee, and vice versa). If the position is held for more than 20 days, the exchange will charge an overdue fee of 0. 1 ‰ on each trading day (at present, the cash is withdrawn first). If the buyer and seller choose physical delivery to close the position, the contract will be converted into full transaction. After the successful delivery declaration, if one of the buyers and sellers breaches the contract, it shall pay a penalty of 7% of the total contract amount to the Gold Exchange. If both parties breach the contract, they must pay 7% penalty to the Gold Exchange.

Seventh, leverage trading other agents' external business. Domestic offices of overseas gold investment companies, or domestic small investment consulting companies and individuals act as agents for overseas gold investment varieties.

Expert advice:

When an investor opens a gold account, it is only used for the book receipt and payment records of gold transactions in the account. What needs to be remembered is that the gold in the account cannot be transferred or cashed out, and no interest is paid.

Gold investment varieties vary in length.

Introduction to key points:

1. The storage cost of physical gold is high.

2. Paper gold can't be bartered.

3. Neither paper gold nor physical gold can be short.

4. Margin trading also has a high leverage effect.

Since there are so many kinds of investments, which one is better? In fact, these investment varieties have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of these investment varieties.

First, physical gold.

We know that gold is the king of money and the best way to fight inflation, but some shortcomings of gold itself also make the investment in physical gold flawed.

Physical gold is difficult to identify. For non-professionals, it is very difficult to identify the quality of gold. How much of what we buy is real gold and how much is doped with impurities? I believe it is difficult for anyone to tell the reason with their own eyes.

It is difficult to realize physical gold. Nowadays, gold can't be sold through authoritative channels, but only through some unofficial folk channels. Among them, we don't know how much profit will be slaughtered by buyers who know the market. I believe no one has a bottom.

Gold is difficult to preserve. The unit value of gold is very high, and its storage is not an easy task for ordinary people. Usually people have two ways, one is to store it in their own homes, and the other is to rent a safe from an authority. Generally speaking, in your own home, the security is relatively low; The security of the existence of third-party institutions is guaranteed, but the high storage fee will increase the cost of gold.

There is no interest income from holding physical gold.

Different varieties in real investment have different advantages and disadvantages.

1. Many investment experts believe that gold bars and nuggets should be the first choice for investment. Compared with jewelry gold, although gold bars and nuggets will also charge investors a certain manufacturing and processing fee, this fee is generally lower and the price is closer to the price of gold. Gold bars and coins are the best choice for real gold investment because they do not involve other costs.

2. Gold jewelry and ornaments are the most common physical gold in the market now. However, the value of gold jewelry and ornaments lies in their ornamental value, and the manufacturing cost is very high, which is divorced from the essence of gold investment. It reflects the cost of gold+manufacturing process. Obviously, it is not conducive to gold investment, and it is not easy to realize and has a large loss, so it is not suitable for investment.

3. Gold coin investment is a flexible way of gold investment, but it is not a good way of investment. Gold coins are legally issued by the state. Gold coin investment is very flexible, and it can be purchased with market issuance and market price fluctuation, which is convenient and flexible and can be purchased at any time. But it is not the best way to invest in gold, because it is very difficult to buy and sell in the market and there is no special recycling place, so it is not a good way to invest in gold. The repurchase mode needs to be solved urgently, which is the primary problem of gold coin investment at present. Countries that need to facilitate investment in gold coins should introduce certain recycling policies.

Second, paper gold.

Figuratively speaking, paper gold is the paper transaction of gold. Investors' transaction records are only reflected in the "gold passbook account" opened by individuals in advance, and the gold price is adjusted in real time according to the international gold price, so users don't have to worry about the bank manipulating the gold price at will.

The advantages of paper gold are obvious.

1. High security. Since paper gold does not depend on physical transactions, you don't have to worry about the storage and custody of gold. It is recorded in the bank database in the form of data. Its security is much higher than that of bank deposits.

2. Low cost. In paper gold trading, investors do not need to buy, sell and settle in kind, but use bookkeeping to invest in gold. Because it does not involve the settlement of real money, the transaction cost can be lower.

3. Quick liquidation. From the degree of realization, the realization of paper gold is instantaneous, unlike the fund that takes several working days to get the money. And paper gold is more flexible than stocks. If you like, you can sell your paper gold one minute after buying, which is impossible in the stock market.

4. Description of the transaction method. Paper gold follows the international gold price, not the bank itself, so investors don't have to worry that the bank will make a profit by manipulating the price.

5. The handling fee is low. The transaction of paper gold, like stocks and funds, also needs a certain handling fee, which is different from the traditional handling fee charged by a few percent of the transaction amount. The fee for paper gold is charged according to the amount of gold. The fee for investing in paper gold is much lower than that for stocks and funds, and this ratio will decrease with the increase of gold price.

However, paper gold is not without defects. Although it can be equated with holding gold, the "gold" in the account cannot be exchanged for physical objects. If you want to withdraw the real thing, you can only exchange it after you make up the amount of funds.

It should be noted that paper gold and physical gold have the same shortcoming, that is, they cannot be short. In other words, when the price of gold falls, investors can't invest in gold and can only wait for the next rise. If investors hold gold in their hands and don't sell it in time, they can only bear the loss of falling gold prices.

Third, big risk investment, gold futures and options.

The general form of futures and options realizes leveraged trading, so do gold futures and options, which are different from ordinary gold investment. It is a high-risk investment, so the income is greater than that of ordinary gold investment, and vice versa.

The alternative varieties of this investment method in China are margin speculation, T+D spot deferred trading business in Shanghai Gold Exchange market and so on.

Margin trading also has a high leverage effect, such products have low investment costs and high market liquidity. Investors can choose to deliver on the same day of the contract or postpone the delivery. The minimum opening capital is 10% of the trading volume, allowing two-way trading, long or short, and closing positions at any time after trading. At the same time, the trading method is free to quote, which improves the flexibility of trading. The high return on investment has attracted many speculators, but this kind of transaction is risky. It magnifies the inherent risk of price fluctuation, and smaller price changes will lead to greater risks. When market conditions deteriorate, speculators may suffer huge losses.

Fourth, leverage trades the outside business of other agents.

Due to the fact that leveraged transactions of other agency external disk businesses are not cashed in with spot gold, and are restricted by the supervision of capital exchange, most of customers' funds are indirectly credited to personal accounts, which is difficult to be protected by law. Therefore, it is not suitable for personal investment.