Last year gold demand reached a three-year high and the gold price finished up 8% in dollars, 13% in euros and 31% in British pounds.

2017 has picked up where 2016 left off. Uncertainty with regard to both the political and financial outlook and a growing demand to hold assets outside of the banking system is seeing safe haven demand for gold and gold is 6% higher in dollars and by more in other currencies.

It is little wonder, therefore, that many investors are again looking to invest in gold and sometimes silver in order to diversify their portfolios and reduce risk.

As mentioned last week, when it comes to investment opportunities, the pickings are looking increasingly slim with many markets, including stock, bond and many property markets now at or near all time record highs.

The sale of a Gaugain for just $25 million, 74% less than it was bought for in 2009 and a 17% and 27% fall in sales for both Christie’s and Sotheby’s respectively, shows the air is rapidly coming out of the very bubbly art market.

Many major cities around the world show clear signs of property bubbles and some of them appear to seeing their bubbles beginning to burst – including the over inflated London property market.

Gradually we are again seeing increasing numbers of investors turning to the one market that has endured political and financial uncertainties, recessions, depressions, ‘stagflations’ and ‘hyperinflations’ – the gold market.

When it comes to investing in gold, new investors can feel overwhelmed when it comes to looking at what kind of gold and related products they should go for as there are seemingly so many ‘great’ gold investment opportunities out there.

Despite a performance steeped in history, new investors are put off by media reports of scams and fraudulent activities in the gold space. Occasional frauds cause respectable papers to forget about the importance of balance and write about the ‘murky world of private gold trading, a free-wheeling market prized by legitimate investors and criminals alike for its secrecy and lax regulation.’

The truth is that there are many gold investment companies and professionals who have the highest of standards when it comes to privacy and regulation. Companies such as GoldCore work hard to bring legitimacy to this growing and successful market, hence our near 14 year history, very large international client base and online community and hundreds of unbiased and positive reviews from actual clients.

As with any market, there are a ‘few bad apples’ but we would contend that there are less bad apples in the gold sector then there are in say the property sector or the stock market where there are many ‘Wolves of Wall Street’ ready to hungrily gobble up the life savings of unsuspecting “widows and orphans.”