Times like now…
I’m talking about hedge fund barons — looking down on the New York skyline – as they ponder the millions or even billions of dollars they must protect…
Or the mom-and-pop investors looking to safeguard the money they worked for 40 years or more to save for their “Golden Years.”
And the Millennials and Generation Z, who have heard the tales how the Great Financial Crisis of 2008… or even the inflation-ridden 1970s made paper wealth disappear.
All these folks — and others — have been flocking to gold, the hard asset also known as the “yellow metal.”
This newfound investor appreciation has also magnified another “appreciation” — price appreciation.
From its lazy doldrums down around $1,557 per ounce near the end of 2019, gold surged 33% — hitting an all-time high of $2,082 back on May 5. Inflation, corporate job cuts, a hawkish Fed, military flintiness around the globe, earnings fears, whipsawing stock prices… and more… have supercharged uncertainty and feelings of helplessness.
Those same investors — big and small — have searched for certainty, solidity, and value. And they found it in gold. But in the chart below, you can see that, since May, gold prices have reversed course and have dipped back toward the $1,900 level:
And that triggers two important questions:
- Is gold still a worthwhile defensive play?
- What are folks buying instead of gold?
Because if the last three years have taught us anything, sticking with what’s worked in recent weeks, months, or the past year can have the opposite effect of your intended goal: Instead of putting you out in front… you can end up getting left behind.
And with good cause: When it comes to stocks, the financial markets, or investing in general, it’s not the past that matters.
It’s what comes next.
And in the next four minutes, Wade will show you what comes next.
