Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Is there a way to hold physical gold or silver (i.e. coins, bars, etc.) in my RRSP? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

If you want to buy gold, we recommend staying away from buying gold bullion, coins (unless you collect them as a hobby) or certificates representing an interest in bullion. That’s because commodity investments such as gold bullion do not generate income. Instead, they come with a continuing cash drain for management, insurance, storage and so on. You either pay these costs directly or through a premium built into the price of, say, a futures contract. That’s why we recommend that you invest in gold through gold-mining stocks. Unlike bullion, gold-mining stocks at least have the potential to generate income. Newmont Mining, $63.33, symbol NEM on New York (Shares outstanding: 484.7 million; Market cap: $30.7 billion; www.newmont.com), is a relatively conservative choice if you want to buy a gold stock. However, if you do want to hold physical gold or silver in an RRSP, here’s how to do it: The 2005 Canadian federal budget made investment-grade gold and silver coins, as…