Gold in portfolio

Do you suggest including gold in a portfolio, & what percentage? Do you recommend a specific agency ?

Terry Says:  Gold is a “hedge” against inflation — and we don’t have much inflation on the horizon these days!  However, with every country “printing” money to devalue its currency, and make its exports cheaper, I do believe that we will one day see another round of currency inflation.  The question is whether it will be the dollar that sees devaluation, or the euro, or the yen — or to what degree each is devalued.  I recently posted an article about two ETFs (exchange traded funds, GEUR and GYEN) that let you bet on the rising value of gold in terms of the Euro or Yen.  (Full Disclosure:  After I wrote the column, I invested!)

The other choice is a mutual fund full of gold mining companies, which may pay dividends if gold prices rise.  Or you could actually buy gold bullion coins such as the American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf. Even if they aren’t “stocks” they would be a part of your “portfolio”.   Search my archives by clicking on the green box at my website, and you can find the columns I have written about gold.

I always remember a saying from the great goldbug James Dines, who 40 years ago said: “When my girlfriend asks for a bracelet made of paper, I’ll know that paper is as good as gold!”