Gold

Gold Investments
Gold is usually held in the form of bullion coins or in a gold bullion ETF. Gold company stocks can be held individually, or in a gold stocks mutual fund or ETF.

Bullion Coins

 * The United States Mint American Eagle Bullion Coins
 * The Royal Canadian Mint Maple Leaf Bullion Coins
 * The South Africa Mint Kruggerrand Bullion Coins

Exchange Traded Funds

 * SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) (Company shares)
 * iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU) (Bullion)
 * Central GoldTrust (GTU) (Closed-end fund)

Gold Stocks and Mutual Funds

 * See Precious Metals Equity page which has different characteristics than gold bullion.
 * Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund

Taxation
Gold Bullion and gold bullion ETFs are subject to the maximum 28% capital gains tax on collectibles. This tax rate is higher than the maximum capital gains tax of 15% on other investment assets. However, in some cases, such as with GTU, gains can be taxed as capital gains because the investment can be treated as a PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) - see a tax adviser for details.

Articles

 * Rediscovering Gold As An Asset Class Juan Carlos Artigas, Journal of Indexing, November/December 2010.