Roger Nusbaum had a reader write in and ask this question recently:

"Have I missed the boat on Precious Metals?" It's been up big the last year and many people think this year will be better. What's your opinion? I was in an energy fund, but got out when oil dropped below $60 thinking it was heading to $50, of couse it went back over $60 and has stayed {against most peoples opinion - they claim to be experts!!}?

Obviously from the question asked this reader isn't an investor, he is a speculator. He likes to go in and out of the market looking for some quick money.

For gold, like all investments, this isn't a good strategy for the individual.

Roger goes on to say:

"Obviously there is more short term risk up here above $550. If you are trying to find a trade for the next few weeks I doubt it will be a lot higher in that time period. At a minimum I think gold needs to go sideways or correct before it is tradeable again."

Dr. Steve Sjuggerud concurs with this saying:

"Although DailyWealth is long-term bullish on gold and gold stocks, a healthy 'breather' may be in the cards for the shares of gold miners. This correction would help gold stocks digest their gigantic gains of the past four months."

Keeping in mind that there will probably be a short-term correction in gold sometime soon, let's look at two of the safer ways to invest in gold.
Dr. Sjuggerud when questioning John Doody about the safest way to invest in gold, received this as an answer:

Up first, he said "the gold ETF is the least risky way to buy gold."
The gold ETF, in case you're not familiar, is the way to buy gold through the stock market. (ETF stands for "exchange-traded fund".) The stock symbol is GLD, and it trades roughly at the price of gold, divided by 10.

So there's got to be something in between? The gold ETF doesn't have any upside potential beyond the price of gold. And the tiny stocks can go up by hundreds of percent, or literally go to zero. What's the best play in between?

"The safest choice is Newmont (NEM)," John says. As the only gold stock in the S&P 500, it's the first place big investors will go to get exposure to gold. John prefers it over the other big name gold stocks.

John also recommends Goldcorp (GG) if you're looking for a big and safe gold stock that's not talked about as much as Newmont.

This is great advise for those who want to have a low-risk position in gold!

See the full article here