The rush for gold

November 30, 2009 3:53 pm by Denise Law

When I learned that Harrods was selling gold bars, I thought “Why not? The department store already resembles a mummy’s tomb.”

But the idea of buying and lugging gold back home might not be as outlandish as it sounds.

Investors want safety – and they see it in gold, according to a new study by TD Waterhouse.

The study found that investors have become more interested in long-term investing, with 40 per cent investing for growth and 19 per cent for income.

But in the near future, 19 per cent of investors predict that precious metals and commodities will perform the best, followed by the Asian stock market.

More interestingly, however, given a £5,000 windfall, gold and gold exchange-traded funds are the third most popular investment choice, after investing in UK companies and putting money in a high interest savings account.

The rush for gold is back, but is it fool’s gold? Find out on the FT Money website later this week, when the full results of the research (plus expert commentary) are released.

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Lucy Warwick-Ching is the FT’s new Money Online Editor and has been a UK Companies reporter covering tobacco, pubs and leisure companies as well as the deputy editor on House and Home.

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Steve Lodge is a personal finance reporter on FT Money specialising in savings.


Josephine Cumbo has written about all aspects of personal finance but currently specialises in insurance. She also covered company news for FT.com. Prior to working at the FT she was a news reporter for the ABC.

Tanya Powley is a personal finance reporter on FT Money specialising in mortgages and the housing market. Tanya joined FT Money in November 2009 after working in Australia covering personal finance for the Australian Financial Review and its sister magazine Asset. Prior to that, Tanya wrote about mortgages for UK trade newspaper Money Marketing.

Jonathan Eley is editor of Investors Chronicle, and has been with the title for ten years. Before that he worked for newswires and trade journals in London, New York and Hong Kong.

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