Categories: General Market Commentary / Precious Metals
Topics: General Market Commentary / General Precious Metals

The Diversification Benefits of Gold

The Diversification Benefits of Gold

Gold posted its second straight monthly gain in February, the first such time it has done so since the summer, when Brexit-fueled uncertainty shook world markets. In 2017, the yellow metal has now advanced close to 9 percent, cracking the $1,260 an ounce ceiling on Monday for the first time since soon after the November election. Compared to the same number of trading days last year, gold was up 15 percent.

Lately we’ve seen money managers and hedge funds increase their net long position on gold. This is impressive considering that equities are still holding strong and regularly hitting new highs. As of February 27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up for 12 straight days, a winning streak we haven’t seen in 30 years.

Gains in the large-cap index have been led by plane-maker Boeing, which stands to benefit “big league” from President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost military spending 10 percent, or $54 billion, announced yesterday.

Money managers’ bullish bet on gold at this time shows that the precious metal continues to hold an important place in most investors’ portfolios. Over the past 10 years, gold has shown little to no correlation with blue-chip or small-cap stocks, making it an exceptional diversifier for investors who might fear stocks have risen too much, too fast, and are due for a pullback. In a note last week, UBS analyst Joni Teves said as much, writing that “gold interest on the back of diversification and hedging reasons are likely to be resilient as uncertainty and political risks linger.”

To see charts and continue reading please click link http://www.usfunds.com/investor-library/frank-talk/the-diversification-benefits-of-gold/