GOLD Gold is a must in portfolio if you are investing. Gold is a popular investment, and requires no advising in keeping it with other investments. Buying pure 24 karat gold is a better investment than jewelry made of gold. Along investment decisions taking gold as gold coins, gold biscuits or gold bars - of 24 karat is an addition must considering. Gold can be bought from banks, post offices and the traders and jewelers along the gold market. Where should you get your gold, is a matter of choice. Jewelers Jewelers sell gold coins, gold biscuits and 24 karat gold rings. Gold rings are popular. Jewelers and Traders are a trusted source if you know about them. 24 karat gold can be sold with negligible deduction which could be around 1-2% in cash which doesn't affect its big value. It is important to examine that the gold coin, bar, ring etc has a 24 karat seal on it. Jeweler with a good reputation is a better place to buy gold and can be trusted. In case of value purchase, purity checking is a must. Buying from the jeweler is the better source as it is cheaper and gold can also be sold at a higher current selling rate in the market. Banks State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank sell gold coins. A bank is the trusted source to buy gold as purity is assured with banks seal present on the metal. Banks also give a certificate of purity with and for the gold coins they sell. Gold from banks is costlier as there is a premium added to it above the current rate which can vary above 10%. Selling gold bought from bank may hit profits. Banks are not permitted to buy back gold being a selling instituted with it. However some banks keep gold as mortgage to provide loans. Gold Exchange Traded Funds Gold are held in demat form. 1 unit if gold is of value equal to 1 gram. Storage, lockers and keeping of physical gold is not needed. Accuracy of weight or purity of the gold is also not being questioned as it is in electronic form. Similarly it cannot be used for making jewelry in physical form. This is in interest of investor and is been working well since it has been introduced to the market. The Internet Gold can be purchased online. Jewelers sell gold online. Accuracy of weight and purity of gold should be confirmed before clicking it online. Banks are reliable sources only. There are disadvantages of buying gold online. Gold Retailers The retail outlets, such as a chain store Tanishq, which is a TATA enterprise, can be a source to buy gold. It can be relied upon and is a buying source for gifting on any occasion, both in business and private events. Post Offices The best source where reasonable price and purity is expected is the Post Offices. Few city PO are been doing this since permission from the government were granted. Coins in lower denominations (0.5 grams, 1.0 grams, 5.0 grams and 8.0 grams) are sold for the convenience of the buyers. The PO in cities below can be found to be selling gold to people: Delhi, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Salem and Madurai. - Content solely of the owner. Ideas taken from various sources.