Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
What Are the Easiest Ways to Invest in Gold and Silver?
Moneymagpie Team
22nd Jan 2026
The recent boom in gold and silver prices has led to a lot of people paying more attention to these precious metals. While you might think that buying gold or silver is difficult, there are a few simple, modern approaches to be aware of.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
With ETFs, you buy gold or silver just like you would do when operating in the stock market. The key point here is that you don’t own or hold any of the metal. Rather, you own a share of a fund that owns the metal. This means that the price moves in line with the market.
You need to consider factors such as the size and reputation of the fund when choosing. The spread is also crucial, as this is the difference between the buy and sell price, making it one of the most important aspects that determines whether you get good profits if the price climbs.
Gold CFDs
Instead of a long-term investment, a contract for difference (CFD) is a vehicle for short-term trading. You’ll see a variety of options on a CFD trading platform, covering commodities, currencies, and shares. This is a way of attempting to profit from price moves using leverage but without owning the underlying asset. You can look to benefit from price rises or falls, making CFDS useful in every type of market condition.
Silver has traditionally been more volatile than gold, meaning that its CFDs offer more possibilities but also more risk. This is partly because of the smaller market cap and partly because gold is seen as a store of value, while silver is highly sought-after for industrial uses. Silver exploded in price in early 2026 due to a variety of economic and geopolitical factors, so opinion is currently divided over whether it will keep climbing or undergo a drawback in the near future.
Digital and Tokenised Gold
The previous points all cover ways of investing in precious metals, or trading them, without owning them. However, advances in technology like the blockchain mean that we can also buy fractional amounts. Tokenised assets are already changing global financial markets and appear to be set to continue to do so in 2026. It’s been described as an easily-accessible way of hedging against inflation in the same way as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies like Tether Gold (XAUt) and Pax Gold (PAXG) are among the gold-backed tokens that you can buy in small amounts online. These tokens are also known as gold stablecoins, as they’re designed to track the price of gold in the same way that others are pegged to currencies like the US Dollar or the Euro. The level of liquidity and the yields that they offer when staked are among the major differences between them.
Each of these methods provides a different approach for people who want to take part in the gold or silver market. By taking a moment to consider your goals, you can choose a method that’s right for you and also easy to carry out.
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute investment research. The material has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is to be considered to be a marketing communication.
All information has been prepared by ActivTrades (“AT”). The information does not contain a record of AT’s prices, or an offer of or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.
Any material provided does not have regard to the specific investment objective and financial situation of any person who may receive it.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. AT provides an execution-only service. Consequently, any person acting on the information provided does so at their own risk.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.
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