If you decide to bet on gold, be sure to pick the right investment vehicle

As gold catapulted to another record high last week on its run to who knows how high, some investors may be wondering if buying in now will leave them enough room to make a profit on their investment. While analysts and traders are telling anyone who will listen that gold is heading higher still, individual investors should be aware of gold's volatility as an investment. Diversifying a portfolio with gold may not make sense for everyone.

If you listened to Wall Street this week, gold sounds like an investment no-brainer. On CNBC's SquawkBox Wednesday, Lou Grasso, a gold trader at Millenium Futures and Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital were bullish on gold. Grasso's prediction of $1,800 an ounce was characterized as "cautious" while Schiff's projection of "$5,000 an ounce before Barack Obama leaves office" (Is he suggesting 2012 or 2016?) understated as "optimistic."