Two Gold "Stocks" to Buy Now

gold stocks to buyFinding gold stocks to buy can be tricky.

You see, to invest in gold, you don't need to buy physical gold bullion or coins. In fact, in many cases your best bet is to buy shares in gold exchange-traded funds.

Buying shares in gold ETFs is like buying stocks. A fund manager will hold physical gold in vaults and issue shares against the value of their holdings.

But after gold prices peaked in August 2011, the yellow metal has fallen 38% over the last three and a half years. And this long downtrend in gold has provided a unique opportunity to invest in gold at a discount.

To do this, the best gold "stocks" to buy aren't exactly stocks. They're closed-end gold funds - as opposed to the typical gold ETFs or open-end funds.

A fund trades at a discount when shares fall below the net asset value of a fund (net assets divided by shares outstanding). When they are above NAV, they trade at a premium.

This doesn't happen with open-end funds because those funds will continue to issue shares as long as the demand is there. Share price will reflect NAV.

With gold ETFs, there are opportunities to buy at a discount. But typically, ETFs don't provide the opportunity to get that deep discount. ETFs trade with market makers that facilitate a tight bid/ask spread around an ETF's NAV.

Closed-end funds are different. Fund managers don't issue new shares as more investors jump in. So as the price of the underlying asset falls with no change to its outstanding shares, the share price can fall below the net asset value.

And you are essentially buying gold at a discount.

We asked Money Morning Global Resource Specialist Peter Krauth to give investors his insight on which gold stocks to buy now. He picked two closed-end funds that provide the best alternative way to invest in gold.

Gold "Stocks" to Buy No. 1: Central Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GTU)

The Central Gold Trust is a thinly traded gold fund. About 84,000 shares are traded daily.

It has a market value of $785.5 million, with 98.7% of its holdings invested in unencumbered, allocated, and segregated gold bullion. The remaining 1.3% is made up of cash.

The Central Fund of Canada Ltd. (NYSE: CEF), a Toronto-based investment holding company that specializes in passive, long-term precious metal investments, manages the fund.

"This is a closed-end fund, so will often trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value," Krauth said. "Right now, investors benefit from a generous 7.8% discount, meaning they can essentially buy gold at a discount."

This next gold "stock" also trades at a discount, but provides another perk you won't find in many of the more popular gold ETFs. Continue reading to get this pick...

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Gold "Stocks" to Buy No. 2:  Sprott Physical Gold Trust (NYSE Arca: PHYS)

The Sprott Physical Gold Trust gives investors direct exposure to gold. Much like GTU, it is a closed-end fund, and is trading at a slight discount of 0.5%.

But that's not the main allure of PHYS. Here's how Krauth broke it down.

"The gold is stored in Canada, is not held with a bank custodian, offers the ability to redeem shares for physical gold, and has potential tax advantages for some U.S. investors," Krauth said.

Holding your gold in Canada comes as an advantage because it quells the fears of gold confiscation. Interest in precious metals has ramped up since the financial crisis, and has stoked real concerns that the U.S. government could seize U.S. bank's gold holdings and forbid gold purchases.

It may seem unlikely, but the U.S. has done it before.

"Back in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, effectively forbidding the ownership of gold coins, bullion, and certificates by U.S. citizens," Krauth said. "This coerced the public to turn in their gold for $20.67 an ounce, which the government shortly thereafter 'revalued' to $35 per ounce."

And unlike many other gold funds, you can exchange shares for physical gold.

PHYS also allows for investors to take advantage of much lower capital gains taxes than those on gains made from selling precious metals. After holding PHYS shares for a year, gains are taxed between 15% and 20%. Gold sales are, however, taxed at 28%.

The Bottom Line: You don't have to buy physical gold to get all the benefits of this all-too-necessary hedge investment. Physical gold can come with storage costs and high taxes on capital gains. Funds allow you to sidestep a lot of these drawbacks to precious metal investment, while still giving your portfolio exposure to the yellow metal. And if you dig a little deeper than the popular gold funds, you can even find ways to buy gold at a discount, or convert shares into the bullion if you do later decide you want to hold the physical product.

Gold Investing Has Its Critics... but they don't understand why gold is such an important investment. Sure, gullible investors may get trapped into buying gold for all the wrong reasons by infomercials and shady coin dealers, but for the most part, gold has an important role in the portfolio. Here are four myths about gold, and the truth about why the yellow metal is such an important investment...