Gold is a Currency - and a reliable one!

These days, no currency around the world is as stable as gold - and it has outperformed all of the world’s major currencies since late 2015. Gold is money and in today's environment it offers a yield that is competitive with all of them. Moreover, while central banks can print paper currencies to their hearts’ delight, they cannot print more gold! One of the persistent arguments against owning gold by many advisers is that it unlike cash (which earns interest), gold is a non-yielding asset. However, in today’s world of zero-percent and negative-interest rate policies, the old rationale that favours holding cash over gold is increasingly defunct. Base rates in the industrialised nations have been near-zero since the financial crisis of 2008. Frequently throughout this period the rate of inflation has been higher than this, implying a loss in spending power over time for each unit or currency. This factor, coupled with the many risks which were left unresolved (or have been exacerbated) in the wake of the last financial crisis, provides a strong incentive to hold gold.