Gold is worth the risk?

Gold is worth the risk?Precious metal Gold has many attributes that investors want, and it has been one of the few assets to deliver positive returns since 2005.One of the most perplexing questions facing investors these days is what to make of gold. With the cracks in the global financial system seemingly growing wider, and gold prices in the midst of a decade-long rally, more investors are wondering, do I buy? Sell? Wait until later?

With the listing of the SPDR Gold Shares, then called the StreetTRACKS Gold Trust, exchange traded fund (GLD) in November 2004, questions about gold have become more pressing. Prior to the fund’s launch, there really was no convenient way to invest in gold, and so few investors owned it. Those who wanted to speculate traded futures, and the true believers stashed coins in their attic.

Now, there is $2.1 billion in Gold Shares traded every day and it is the second largest U.S. ETF by assets -- $68 billion as of October 31. Several copycat ETFs – including the iShares Gold Trust (IAU), the ETFS Physical Shares Gold Trust (SGOL), and the ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares (AGOL) – have sprung up to tap into the demand for gold, proving the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.