1.06.2013

Gold: a multigenerational store of value

Welcome to Camp Marston, a historic summer camp near Julian, California, from the early days of the San Diego YMCA.



"Photo from 1928, when boys would meet at the Downtown YMCA at 8th & C Avenue, then climb aboard this old truck for the long ride to Julian.  The fee for a camp session that year was $11.50 plus $1.50 for transportation." - photo caption.

This summer, a child can attend for $685.

That $11.50 in 1928 was just over half an ounce of gold, which was then around $20.66 per ounce.  The price today is just under a half an ounce of gold at $1650 per ounce.

Fiat currencies will come and go, but gold remains a remarkable long-term store of value.  And with central banks only recently ramping up the game of Global Competitive Devaluation, the next 85 years could see an even bigger divergence between gold and fiat than the last 85 years.

In the post-1971 pure fiat currency regime, gold has generated equity-like average returns with the diversifying benefit of a low correlation to equities.  It can be expected to outperform equities in a number of economic and policy scenarios for which the probabilities are decidedly non-zero.  I cannot fathom a valid excuse for any investor having a 0% allocation to gold.





4 comments:

K T Cat said...

Still not a big fan, but I understand the attraction. I guess my motivation for holding 0% in gold is that it's something I've never done. How's that for an admission of ignorance?

W.C. Varones said...

Try an ounce. You'll be hooked!

Doo Doo Econ said...

I would say your risk aversion level should inversely determine the amount of gold owned within a range.

Negocios Loucos said...

Come on KT, everyone who's cool is doing it. You want to be cool don't you?

Happy Super Tuesday!