Gold rush is again, and as a substitute of miners and pickaxes, its hedge funds and billion-dollar spreadsheets.
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates opened a recent $318.8 million place in SPDR Gold Belief GLD through the first quarter of 2025, as per a brand new 13F submitting with the SEC. For the world’s largest hedge fund, it’s not mere portfolio adjustment, it’s a shiny declaration.
Dalio, a long-time outspoken proponent of “arduous cash,” lately doubled down on his opinion throughout a presentation at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Forecasting a coming “debt cash downside” because of hyperborrowing by the U.S., China and nearly each massive economic system apart from Germany, Dalio expressed his fondness for the likes of gold and Bitcoin over typical debt automobiles.
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He’s not the one one embracing this golden gospel. No, institutional traders are flocking to the yellow metallic at a livid clip — 1,187 GLD shares had been added final quarter. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and UBS all bulled up their gold ETFs with positions in GLD, in keeping with Quiver Quantitative.
GLD is likely to be the gold ETF heavyweight champion, nevertheless it’s not alone within the ring. These excited by enjoying with bullion with out retaining it beneath the mattress can contemplate:
iShares Gold Belief IAU: Cheap and in style with good liquidity, good for long-term traders preferring charges on the lean aspect (expense ratio is 0.25%).
SPDR Gold MiniShares Belief GLDM: It’s like GLD’s cheaper cousin and it has a smaller expense ratio (0.1%).
Goldman Sachs Bodily Gold ETF AAAU: Supported by bodily gold and Goldman’s affect, it’s selecting up amongst newer gold bugs.
The Golden Gas
Except for hedge fund mania, there’s a macro muscle driving the gold rally. Central banks have bought greater than 1,000 metric tons of gold per yr since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, twice the quantity of the earlier decade, per a Reuters report from April.
Why? Central banks are diversifying out of the greenback and hedging towards geopolitical threat and Trump-fiscal pyrotechnics.
Dalio places it greatest: debt, cash and the economic system are solely one in all 5 epic forces remaking the world. The others — home political strains, overseas geopolitical conflicts, acts of nature, and technological innovation — are all lighting up pink or amber. Gold, in such a situation, just isn’t merely a security internet. It’s a press release.
So, whether or not you are a hedge fund titan, a cautious retail investor or somebody who simply likes a little bit shine of their portfolio, the message is obvious: in an age of debt and disruption, gold is not going out of favor anytime quickly.
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