Gold is a foundation asset within any long term savings or
investment portfolio. For centuries, particularly during times of financial
stress and the resulting 'flight to quality', investors have sought to protect
their capital in assets that offer safer stores of value. A potent wealth
preserver, gold’s stability remains as compelling as ever for today’s investor.
As one of the few financial assets that do not rely on an issuer's promise to
pay, gold offers refuge from widespread default risk. It offers investors
insurance against extreme movements in the value of other asset classes. Gold
is significantly less volatile than most commodities and many equity indices.
It tends to behave more like a currency. Assets with low volatility will help
to reduce overall risk in your portfolio, adding a beneficial effect on
expected returns. The price of gold tracks the shifting balance of supply and
demand. Long lead times in gold mining mean production of gold is relatively
inelastic, regardless of increases in demand. That’s why the rally in the gold
price since 2001 has not engendered a meaningful increase in gold production
levels. Demand for gold has shown sustained growth recently, due at least in
part to rising income levels in key markets. These supply and demand factors
have laid foundations for gold’s most positive outlook in over a quarter of a
century.
