For thousands of years, people have turned to gold when everything else wobbles — from ancient kings hoarding it in temples to Depression-era Americans hiding coins under floorboards.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the instinct is back — only now, Americans are buying mini gold bars at Costco and loading up trading accounts.
This week, gold broke $4,000 an ounce for the first time, up roughly 50 percent over the past year.
Fear — not greed — is driving the markets: the US government is at a standstill, inflation is biting, and stocks are running hot on hype. Once again, the ‘Midas metal’ is glinting as the ultimate security blanket.
‘Investors are increasingly jumping on the gold bandwagon as safe-haven demand remains strong,’ says David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
Even central banks are stockpiling gold — prompting everyday investors to ask: add more, sell to lock in profits, or simply hold?
The Daily Mail has the answers, thanks to a panel of respected experts. Read on to find out whether now is the time to consider a small allocation in your 401(k), Roth IRA, trading account, or even physical gold.
‘Gold is on pace for its best one-year rally in almost fifty years,’ Bret Kenwell, an investment analyst at eToro, told the Daily Mail. ‘In fact, it’s outperformed the S&P 500 in four of the last seven years.’
Investors have been snapping up gold and gold-related investments as the American economy wobbles
Abigail Wright, senior business advisor at the US Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Mail that American companies are quietly adjusting their investment strategies to hedge against inflation and volatility.
‘It’s not about hoarding metal in a vault,’ Wright, said. ‘The smartest firms use gold as insurance, not income.’
She says individual investors should deploy the same strategy. Don’t make sudden moves with your retirement savings, she warned.
Instead, consider adding a small amount of gold — just one percent to five percent of a retirement portfolio — through funds that track the metal’s price. Keep the rest in stable, long-term assets like stocks, bonds, and cash.
‘It’s about preparation,’ she said. ‘ Resilience comes from balancing risk, and gold offers one way to do that.’
Meanwhile, Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, who famously predicted the 2008 market crash, recommended that investors put ‘like 15 percent of your portfolio in gold.’
‘Gold is a very excellent diversifier in the portfolio,’ he added.
Kenwell said many of his peers still believe gold prices will continue to climb. According to an eToro survey, 57 percent of investors think gold’s price will continue to rise in the short term, while 42 percent said they have gold in their coffers.
Surveys estimate that traders are bullish on the short-term price of gold – more than 40 percent of investors said they have gold in their portfolio
Ray Dalio, the famed investor who predicted the 2008 market crash, said he has invested about 15 percent in gold prices
Costco’s 1-ounce 24-karat bars were around $2,000 in December 2023. This week they were above $4,000, doubling the investment in two years
But the long-term outlook for the metal is a lot murkier, he warned.
‘Gold is a tricky asset at times,’ he added. ‘It’s only natural to say that the rally could use a rest — and it could.’
On Monday, Bank of America warned that the record-high price was unstable and could lead to a quick downfall.
The bank said gold’s price is showing ‘uptrend exhaustion’ that could start a correction and drop the price.
This year’s gold price is not a great sign for America’s economy.
Bret Kenwell, an investment analyhst at eToro, said the price of gold has shocked his peers this year
Normally, gold’s price surges when market uncertainty is high, and this year, there are plenty of worries.
Tariffs have roiled the global market, the US government is shut down, Wall Street is making huge bets that AI might eventually turn a profit, and Americans are slowly starting to lose their jobs.
But it also represents a huge financial opportunity for investors who strike before the price gets hot.
Since 2022, gold’s price has jumped more than 120 percent. For someone who purchased a single ounce of gold in three years ago would have made over $3,000 on their investment.
That’s better performance than the Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, and S&P 500.
‘Gold has always been a mirror for uncertainty,’ Wright said. ‘When the world feels unsteady, people look for something solid.’