The stock market is not the only thing that has rallied in the last few years.
Gold has been on a phenomenal ride.
BlackRock has shown that year-to-date, it is the best performing asset overall.1
The Wall Street Journal published an article recently describing gold’s remarkable run—its best since 1978. David Uberti and Ben Eisen write:
Gold’s value has ballooned by 40% this year, putting it on track for a greater annual price jump than during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic or 2007-09 recession, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Futures for the precious metal haven’t surged so much in a year since 1979, when a global energy crisis fueled an inflationary shock that thrashed the world’s economy.2
One of the reasons for its upward trend is that foreign central banks have been piling into gold in recent years and now hold more gold reserves than US Treasuries.3
Several macro factors influence this as well, like the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war, uncertainty around tariffs, inflationary pressures, and potential future interest rate cuts (one that just happened last week), etc. These influences have contributed to gold’s allure for some investors.
Over the last three years, gold has been running neck and neck with the largest stocks in America. If you put $10,000 both into gold and the S&P 500 a year ago, you’d have a very similar investment return.
If you zoom out farther though, even with the big rally in gold, the compound growth of stocks is the big winner in total return.
And it’s not even close.
Sometimes the perception around gold is that it is “safer” than the stock market. The problem with this observation is that the glittery asset can be as volatile as equities.
The 62% drawdown gold experienced decades ago is an even larger drawdown than the one suffered by US stocks in the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis.
Every gold bug must remember this. How’s that for a “safe” investment?
Notice the 0% on the above chart.
That exists because BOTH stocks and gold are currently hovering around all-time highs, which is interesting in itself for the ‘fear trade’ to be working alongside the ‘growth trade’.
Should the yellow metal play a part in your portfolio?
While some hold their gold position in literal physical gold, others use ETFs linked to gold as a diversifier.
The answer to the question of whether this is good for you—like any investment vehicle—is: it depends.
If you or someone you know needs help making decisions around how to grow your money, our team can help.
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Sources:
1. “Weekly Market Commentary”, September 15, 2025. Accessed online: https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/insights/blackrock-investment-institute/weekly-commentary
2. “Gold Hasn’t Rallied This Much Since 1978”, September 15, 2025. Accessed online: https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/gold-price-rising-61bc0b52
3. Chart taken from Andrew Sarna’s Substack on September 16, 2025. Accessed online: https://offthecharts.substack.com/p/welfare-states-and-worth-its-weight