Investing in gold: how to buy and sell it

702's John Perlman speaks to certified financial planner Paul Roelofse.

Listen below:

While many investments come with uncertainty, gold has always had the reputation of being a safer bet.

The gold price has surged to record levels, and as Roelofse explains, there are some good reasons to investing in it as South Africans...

"From a South African point of view, it's a pretty useful thing to put into your portfolio because we get two benefits from it - not only the US dollar price on gold, but also the rand's as it depreciates..."

- Paul Roelofse, Certified Financial Planner

Of course, as with all investments, Roelofse also suggests some caution as "past performance doesn't predict future."

The diversity element is also a factor - you can invest in actual Krugerrands, but then be aware of the implications of owning them...

"Krugerrands are the physical touch of gold, you can go and buy a Kruger... the problem with that then is that you've got to store it somewhere, you've got to insure it, and when you sell it one day - the unknown factor is that you don't get your actual price, you're going to get whatever is offered to you."

- Paul Roelofse, Certified Financial Planner

Another option is to look at ETFs, or Exchange Traded Funds - which don't require storage or insurance, and can be sold easily at any time for that day's price.

Good old gold shares are of course also still a popular choice for investors.

Roelofse does also point out that these are all subject to capital gains tax.

RELATED: Global demand for gold reaches record value of over $100bn in Q3

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.