What An Allocation to Gold Really Means

Gold is deemed an essential piece of the asset allocation pie in some corners. The reasons vary, depending on the investor, although it's not uncommon to hear rationales that sound more like religious sermons on the mystical properties of the yellow metal. From an econometric perspective, gold's attributes for portfolio design are relatively ordinary by way of closely aligning with the inverse return of the US dollar. As such, using gold in portfolios can and arguably should be viewed as a quasi-forex trade as opposed to an all-weather hedge that can never go wrong.