Everything you want to know before you buy.

Gold ETFs give you exposure to gold's price, but what you own are shares in a fund, not the gold itself. That means annual fees quietly compounding, counterparty risk, and no way to access your gold outside the financial system if you ever needed to.

Physical gold is yours outright: no institution holds it for you, no ongoing management fees, and its value is grounded in the metal itself. Some would say it's also more enjoyable to own.

That said, ETFs have their place — they're simple to hold in a brokerage account and easy to trade. Plenty of investors find holding both to be a reasonable approach.

Gilden is a retailer, not a financial advisor. This is educational only — consult a licensed professional before investing.