Nothing beats a little cash in a bear market, of course, and the oldest form of cash is gold So said James Grant a while back It was a comment that popped to...

Nothing beats a little cash in a bear market, of course, and the oldest form of cash is gold So said James Grant a while back It was a comment that popped to mind when i read Tim Hannon of Freehold Investment Managements excellent fund update which included a section on why cash itself, even though it's low (or negative) yielding today can still play a valuable role in a portfolio. I couldn't agree more, and it's one of the reasons i own both cash and gold in my portfolio. Indeed when it comes to having a call option on the markets, gold tends to do better than cash, averaging a positive return (in AUD) of some 38% in the years where the ASX tumbles hardest. Gold is also the only true call option with no expiry, something First Eagles Matthew Mclennan was getting at with the below comment. Explaining his funds gold allocation, Mclennan stated that gold; is not just resilient but also a natural resource perpetuity, out-lasting corporate fads and sovereign regimes. Full thoughts here (VIEW LINK)