gold

Gold is constantly in the spotlight, amid evolving geopolitical scenarios and sensational headlines suggesting outsized targets. It's crucial for investors to separate the noise from the facts: how much gold makes sense to hold, and above all, what instruments are most effective?
The True Role of Gold: Not a Company, but a Constraint
Unlike stocks, gold doesn't generate profits, doesn't innovate, and doesn't pay coupons or dividends. It isn't a driver of wealth growth, but rather an insurance policy for purchasing power and a strategic reserve.
From 2022 onward, with the geopolitical freeze on conventional currency reserves, the market has rediscovered a simple truth: bonds and current accounts are a debtor's promise; gold is no one's promise. When global confidence wanes, the metal returns to its role as a safe haven.
The Academic Percentage
Academic theory identifies a range between 5% and 25%:
- 25% is the extreme amount expected for specific, rigid strategies (such as the permanent portfolio, one of the "laziest"), where the portfolio is equally divided between stocks, long-term bonds, cash, and gold.
- 5% - 10%: the ideal allocation for most balanced portfolios. This percentage ensures effective decorrelation and protection in times of crisis without penalizing overall returns.
The Practical Method: Band Rebalancing
There's no need to try to predict market cycles. A very effective strategy is to set an intermediate target (e.g., 8%) and define a tolerance band (e.g., +/- 4%).
- If gold rises and reaches 12% of the portfolio, sell the excess to bring it back to 8%.
- If the price drops and reaches 4%, buy to restore the target. This way, management becomes purely mechanical and free from emotion.
Which version of gold should I choose: Fiscal, Crypto, ETC?
1. Physical Gold Version: It's the safe haven asset in its most tangible and pure form, without any counterparty risk (you don't depend on a bank, an ETC issuer, or blockchain). But it comes with costs. Whoever sells it to you will earn their percentage, and it costs to keep it safe (a bank that protects it, insurance against theft), unless you store it in a super-secret and secure location. Furthermore, it's less liquid and less easy to cash out than a click on an app.
2. Tokenized Gold: PAX Gold (PAXG) or Tether Gold (XAUT) are the most common, backed 1:1 by ounces of physical gold stored in real vaults, offering the benefits of blockchain combined with the value of the metal.
3. Standard ETCs (pegged to the dollar): These are exchange-traded funds that can be traded like regular stocks, holding gold in their vaults on your behalf. Choosing an unhedged ETC means gaining exposure to the EUR/USD exchange rate. If the dollar strengthens, you receive an additional return; if the euro rises, your gains are reduced.
Common examples include iShares Physical Gold, Invesco Physical Gold, and others.
4. Euro-pegged ETCs: These are also exchange-traded funds that also hold gold in their vaults, but with an integrated hedge against exchange rate risk. These ETCs neutralize fluctuations between the euro and the dollar through internal currency hedging. The return reflects only the price of pure gold. Among the most well-known are EGLN (iShares) and XAD2 (Xtrackers).
The 5 Golden Rules (mistakes to avoid)
1. Buying chasing price (FOMO)
2. Over-allocating for fear of disaster
3. Expecting compound interest
4. Confusing mining stocks with gold: It's worth explaining that by investing in a mining company, you expose yourself to corporate, liquidity, and capital risks. If the stock market crashes, these stocks could collapse.
5. Buying gold with leverage
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