How Much Gold Should You Hold
Why it is a proportion rather than a sum, whether to buy at once or gradually, and which pieces to buy first.
Most guidance lands between five and fifteen per cent of investable assets. That range is a starting point for thinking, not a recommendation — the right number depends on what the rest of your money is doing and how long you can leave it alone.
Why a percentage rather than a sum
Gold is held as a proportion of everything else you own. Someone with most of their wealth in one company's shares has a different case to someone holding index funds and property. The question is not "how much gold is good" but "how much of what I have should not depend on anyone else staying solvent".
Buying in one go, or over time
Buying gradually removes the risk of putting everything in on a bad day, at the cost of some paperwork and slightly more premium if you buy small pieces. Buying in one go is simpler and cheaper per gram. Neither is wrong.
One practical note: if buying gradually means buying tenth-ounce coins repeatedly, you are paying a meaningfully higher premium each time. Saving up for full Sovereigns or ounce coins usually costs less overall.
Use the CGT exemption first
If you are a UK resident, fill the tax-efficient part of the holding before anything else. UK legal tender coins — Sovereigns and Britannias in every size — are free of Capital Gains Tax whatever the gain. There is no allowance to use up and no cap. Buying bars or foreign coins before you have taken that exemption is leaving something on the table.
Leaving it alone
Gold is a decade asset. Short holding periods expose you to the spread and to the ordinary volatility of the metal. If the money might be needed within a couple of years, gold is probably the wrong home for it.
General information, not investment or tax advice.