What’s Your Gold Profile?

Every well diversified stock portfolio should have some gold. There are a bunch of investors that forget the importance gold has to offer. Even the largest hedge fund in the world, Ray Dalio’s All Weather Fund, has gold. So what are you waiting for? If you don’t have any gold, read this little guide to decide which kind of gold you should buy, if you do, check whether the composition reflects your profile.

Gold performed well in times of inflation, deflation and global currency debasement. At the moment there is a big battle behind the curtains between inflation and deflation. For now they keep each other in balance so prices barely go up or down. But this fight will end sometime and you better own some gold when it does.

At the moment, the ongoing currency wars is the best reason to buy gold, especially in the countries where the currency is losing the fight with the US Dollar. Central banks print money like there’s no tomorrow. Currency debasement buys some time for the governments but they are squandering it.

Eventually it will be payback time. At that moment, you should already have bought gold.

Gold is like a car insurance. You hope you never need it, but when you get into an accident, you are glad you bought it. When you buy a car insurance the day after you crash your car. Yes, it’s a good idea. But you’re a little late to the party, and it’s going to cost you a lot more money.

So, where does an investor start in terms of portfolio exposure to gold?

Common types of gold investment products include gold bullion, gold coins, exchange traded funds (ETFs) for bullion, and equity exposure to the mining industry. If you have some experience you may also buy individual mining companies, futures contracts, derivatives, royalty companies, senior mining company equities and junior mining exploration companies.

History shows that bullion, ETFs, and most coins typically move in tandem with the price of gold. Royalty companies, individual mining companies, and mutual funds are equities and are therefore more dependent on underlying operational performance.

Like gold is a core asset for every portfolio, bullion and coins are the core for your gold portfolio. There is no defined or hard formula about what percentage of the above gold investment product categories should make up an investor’s portfolio. Bullion and coins have the lowest volatility. While gold dropped 40% since 2011, most gold companies declined 70% and junior mining stocks 90%.

Conservative individuals should stick to the bottom of the pyramid. After you allocated bullion and coins, your personal profile determines the risk and volatility. Can you handle some volatility: buy some gold mining stocks and royalty companies. Can you afford high risk for high rewards: buy also junior mining stocks.

Finding a proper allocation is the most important job. After deciding on a portfolio category composition, averaging in over time would also be prudent.