By Mike Maharrey, Money Metals Exchange

You might think of gold as old-fashioned - an investment that mostly appeals to Boomers. But in the real world, it's Millennials and Gen-Zers who are clamoring for gold.

According to a recent study by Bank of America Private Bank, 45 percent of wealthy investors under the age of 43 own gold, and another 45 percent expressed interest in holding the yellow metal. In other words, 90 percent of millennials and Gen Z investors are positive about gold. 

These are far higher percentages than we find among Gen X and Boomer investors.

A separate study by State Street found millennials on average have about 17 percent of their portfolios allocated to gold, the highest percentage of any age demographic. Boomers and Xers average about 10 percent.

SoFi head of investment strategy Liz Young Thomas told Reuters that young people have historically considered traditional assets such as gold "boring," but strong returns over the last several years have turned their heads and changed their attitudes.

In fact, gold was among the best-performing assets in 2023 and through the first half of 2024.

"We are seeing returns we normally don’t see in such a short period of time. Naturally, when assets have strong returns, younger audiences start to perk up,” Thomas said.

According to Reuters, it's not just the "healthy spot price" in recent months that has renewed the buzz around gold.

"It is also increasingly on the shelves in popular retail environments [such as Costco], which boosts visibility."

A financial planner told Reuters that as his millennial clients get wealthier, they become increasingly interested in investing in "directly-held self-custodied" gold.

This is because gold comes with very little counterparty risk. If you own physical metal and store it in a safe at home, there isn’t another party involved. Nobody can default on gold (or silver). Its value will never go to zero. And gold is liquid under virtually any market conditions.

Young people are also becoming increasingly aware of the increasing risk in today's economy with rapidly increasing government debt and rampant price inflation. 

As Reuters noted, "If the world’s financial system happens to go haywire, or currencies collapse, at least you would have something real to hold onto."

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