Newby question: CEF/GTU vs GLD

[Benko]

I am new to investing and to the PP.  I was going to invest in PRPfx but "seperates" i.e. original PP seem the better way to go.

I live in an apt (don't want a house now long story) and don't want to store large amounts of gold/silver.  A knowledgable friend said he has his gold as CEF and GLD.  I confess while stocks, bonds, etc are not new to me, I'd never heard of ETFs till recently. 

CEF (for gold and silver) or GTU for gold seem attractive since:
"Our bullion is stored in separate cages, with the name of the owner printed on the cage"
http://seekingalpha.com/article/111157- ... and-silver

Thoughts?

Thanks for your time.

[MediumTex]

CEF is inappropriate for PP purposes.  It holds one-half gold and one-half silver.

GTU is fine, though make sure you understand how the premium to net asset value issue works before you buy, and if you are a taxable investor, make sure you understand the tax and reporting issues associated with GTU.

[AdamA]

I live in an apt (don't want a house now long story) and don't want to store large amounts of gold/silver. 

Buy some coins and store them in a safe deposit box.

It's also not a bad idea to hold an ETF (like GLD) or close ended fund (like GTU) for rebalancing purposes and some diversity.

Pay attention to the premium and tax issues mentioned by Medium Tex if you use GTU. 

[foglifter]

I live in an apt (don't want a house now long story) and don't want to store large amounts of gold/silver.  

Buy some coins and store them in a safe deposit box.

It's also not a bad idea to hold an ETF (like GLD) or close ended fund (like GTU) for rebalancing purposes and some diversity.

Pay attention to the premium and tax issues mentioned by Medium Tex if you use GTU.  

Second that. But if you decide to go with ETFs I'd suggest IAU instead of GLD. GLD had some bad press due to the fund's accounting gimmicks in terms of gold leasing (you'll find a lot of articles on the Web). Also, IAU has the lowest ER of all gold-backed funds.

If you decide to invest in gold CEFs (closed end funds) like GTU, PHYS, etc. be careful about premiums. As of today GTU's premium is 10.4% - in spite of all the recent gold sell-off. For camparison, IAU  trades at a discount of -4.19% today. One approach that had been discussed here is to buy and hold an ETF and then in the future if your chosen CEF happens to trade at a discount (rarely happens) or a small premium to its NAV move from ETF to CEF.