Practical analysis for investment professionals
30 August 2012

Poll: Does the State of the Global Economy Warrant the Purchase of Gold?

In a poll conducted earlier this week in the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief, we asked subscribers whether the state of the global economy warrants the purchase of gold or gold stocks. It looks like professional investors are split right down the middle. Out of 1,271 respondents, nearly 46% say the status of the global economy warrants the purchase of gold today, versus about 45% declining to purchase gold.


Does the state of the global economy warrant the purchase of gold or gold stocks?

Poll Results: Does the state of the global economy warrant the purchase of gold or gold stocks?



While more than 9% of our readers remain undecided, governments around the world have decisively turned “bullish” on gold, with central banks in India and China snapping up gold at a rapid clip. Even the IMF reversed course by recently announcing plans to purchase $3.2 billion in gold. Official statements from these organizations suggest that they are concerned about bad debts. For many countries, these bad debts can translate into money printing. So, whatever currency you hold, ownership of gold is probably best tied to your view of the debt crisis and concomitant money printing.


Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.

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About the Author(s)
Ron Rimkus, CFA

Ron Rimkus, CFA, was Director of Economics & Alternative Assets at CFA Institute, where he wrote about economics, monetary policy, currencies, global macro, behavioral finance, fixed income and alternative investments, such as gold and bitcoin (among other things). Previously, he served as SVP and Director of Large-cap Equity Products for BB&T Asset Management, where he led a team of research analysts, 300 regional portfolio managers, client service specialists, and marketing staff. He also served as a Senior Vice President and Lead Portfolio Manager of large-cap equity products at Mesirow Financial. Rimkus earned a BA degree in economics from Brown University and his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Topical Expertise: Alternative Investments · Economics

6 thoughts on “Poll: Does the State of the Global Economy Warrant the Purchase of Gold?”

  1. I have no idea about the “state of the world economy” but the price action of gold makes it a short in my book.

    Gold requires ever-higher levels of fear to drive hording (the primary demand for gold). It’s just not possible to sustain that indefinitely. Gold is also disproportionately held by older speculators (they’re not investors – gold has no yield) which means that time is not on gold’s side.

    1. Philipp says:

      Gold drives on low (<2%) or negative real interest rates, which will not increase in the near future (didn't the FED promise low interest rates for the next few years?).
      http://seekingalpha.com/article/478891-gold-s-critical-metric-real-interest-rates

  2. Monty says:

    Paper money, commodity futures accounts, stock accounts are all under attack by the central planners, big banks and brokerage houses. Sentinal, MFG, PGF Best, Kight Capital all will leave “investors” holding a bag of shit. The court ruling for Sentinal lay’s the business model out prefectly for the rest of the criminal financial firms to begin the preparation of legal confiscation/vaporization or what ever term they want to use. Holding bullion is the moral imparitive of people who wish to stand for justice. All other’s stand for the injustice.

  3. PJ says:

    @W at Off-Road Finance

    Do you mean by “hoarding”, purchases and gold stocked by the IMF, World Bank, and all central banks that I know of?

    As a holder of physical gold for some years now, I would say that gold has no need to pay a return. The return is gold buys the same now as it did 100 years ago – probably 1000 years ago, and maybe even 7000 years ago. The US$ on the other hand is worth a couple of cents now compared to 100 years ago, and it did not exist 1000 years ago. You see, gold has been an investment of the rich and powerful since records began. That’s hardly speculative, is it? They included Pharaohs, Kings, Emperors, Dictators, etc. Is that what you meant by “older investors”?

    Exactly which road are you off? Perhaps you should get a map, or in your case, perhaps a Sat-Nav.

  4. PJ says:

    @W at Off-Road Finance

    “Gold is also disproportionately held by older speculators (they’re not investors – gold has no yield) which means that time is not on gold’s side.”

    I forgot to ask why you wrote this? Do you think that people are stuck at the age they are presently? Do you not contemplate the possibility that older people are replaced by younger people as they get older, meaning that gold has all the time in the world, if your hypothesis is to be taken seriously?

    And are all the folk that buy stocks and shares (they may pay dividends of some sort or another) investors? Do they not also speculate that the value may go up or down, as indeed can the dividend? Do you not buy and sell on this speculation in your world?

    Do people pay you for your advice?

  5. http://google.ca Hey! your site’s style is cracked in my Chrome. Maybe you should fix it. cool post tho.

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