Invest in Gold as a Retirement Investment

• While gold's value has fluctuated throughout history, it generally increases in price during economic uncertainty.
• Gold can be vulnerable to geopolitical factors, such as inflation and currency devaluation.
• Gold is a precious metal that has been used in jewelry, money, and electronics.

Gold is a precious metal that has been used in jewelry, money, and electronics. While its value has fluctuated since ancient times, gold often rises in price during times of economic uncertainty.
Gold is often thought of as a safe investment, in part because it can be difficult to counterfeit. However, investing in gold presents some risks, including low liquidity and exposure to fluctuations in supply and demand. Gold holdings also can be vulnerable to geopolitical factors, such as inflation and currency devaluation.

Why Gold?

Gold is widely accepted as a store of value, and has been for centuries. Gold is tangible, and while its price may fluctuate, so to do most other investments. Gold's price has historically been stable, and its physical nature makes it easily divisible and portable. For this reason, gold is universally held as a store of value, in all cultures and all times.
Gold is also viewed as a safe haven asset, which means its price tends to increase during uncertain economic times.
Gold is also thought to be the best long-term investment a person can buy. This is because while gold's price may fluctuate over time, the supply is constant.

Gold as an Inflation Hedge

Gold has traditionally been considered an inflation hedge. In general, when the economy is doing well, inflation rises. When inflation rises, gold prices tend to rise. However, as gold is priced in dollars, its value decreases as the dollar increases in value.
Gold as an Investor's Safe Haven
Gold is also considered a safe haven, or a place to park some of your money when the stock market or national economy is declining. For example, in October 2008, as the financial crisis was deepening and the stock market was declining, gold prices rose.

Gold as an Alternative to Stocks

Most investors, even wealth managers, believe that gold is an alternative to stocks, but that is not necessarily true. Gold and gold shares are complementary investments, rather than substitutes.
Once investors have established their asset allocation, they should revisit it periodically, as circumstances change.

Gold as a Crisis Hedge

Gold is a trusted store of value that has been used for centuries as an alternative to fiat currencies. A crisis such as the Great Recession of 2008 is often a good opportunity to invest in gold as investors look for ways to preserve their wealth.
Gold as a Retirement Investment
The Smart Money Is Investing in Gold
While it may sound counterintuitive, gold is a high-yielding asset that can be used as a retirement investment. Consider that gold has only been around for 6,000 years, whereas stocks have been around for 300 years. So, the volatility of stocks is much higher in comparison. However, there is a certain safety that comes with gold.
The "smart money" has been buying gold, as gold ownership among the world's wealthy has tripled since 2000.

Limitations of Gold

Although gold is perceived as a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, it has several downsides as an investment vehicle.
Gold has low liquidity. It can't be traded easily. Gold is very expensive to store, so large quantities can only be owned by large institutional investors. Gold is rarely purchased as an investment. Gold is often viewed as a form of protection against inflation, not as a source of investment income.

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The Bottom Line

Gold has been one of the oldest and most stable currencies worldwide. Gold is a great hedge against inflation and can also serve as a retirement investment. Many people invest in gold for all of these reasons, as gold has become a staple investment for many people.