Gold rush is again, and as a substitute of miners and pickaxes, its hedge funds and billion-dollar spreadsheets.
Ray Galio’s Bridgewater Associates opened a contemporary $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 “laborious cash,” not too long ago doubled down on his opinion throughout a presentation at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Forecasting a coming “debt cash drawback” resulting from hyperborrowing by the U.S., China and just about each giant economic system aside from Germany, Dalio expressed his fondness for the likes of gold and Bitcoin over typical debt autos.
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He’s not the one one embracing this golden gospel. No, institutional buyers are flocking to the yellow steel at a livid clip — 1,187 GLD shares have been added final quarter. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and UBS all bulled up their gold ETFs with positions in GLD, in accordance with Quiver Quantitative.
GLD is perhaps the gold ETF heavyweight champion, but it surely’s not alone within the ring. These concerned about taking part in with bullion with out preserving it beneath the mattress can contemplate:
iShares Gold Belief IAU: Cheap and well-liked with good liquidity, excellent for long-term buyers 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 AAU: Supported by bodily gold and Goldman’s affect, it’s choosing up amongst newer gold bugs.
The Golden Gasoline
Other than 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 12 months 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 in opposition to geopolitical danger and Trump-fiscal pyrotechnics.
Dalio places it finest: debt, cash and the economic system are solely one in every of 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 state of affairs, just isn’t merely a security web. It’s an announcement.
So, whether or not you are a hedge fund titan, a cautious retail investor or somebody who simply likes somewhat shine of their portfolio, the message is evident: in an age of debt and disruption, gold is not going out of favor anytime quickly.
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