Gold Searches on the Rise as the
Precious Metal Continues to Set Records
Gold has been around for hundreds of years. Its roots trace back to around 550 BC when King Croesus of Lydia, which now belongs to the country of Turkey, declared that gold coins to be part of the international monetary system.
It’s no secret that investing in gold has been a great way to diversify one’s wealth and have an asset class that’s impossible to replicate without mining, and in less stable countries across the world the elite stack gold as a form of currency in case their country becomes insolvent.
Gold has hit record high after record high this year, thanks in part to geo-political turmoil, an upcoming election, and tensions across the globe. We are in very rare times with the stock market also being at record highs, which typically shoes investors away from precious metals like gold.
Central banks have led the way the last few years as they continue to purchase gold. They now hold more than 36,000 metric tons. This equates to roughly 17% of the world’s total gold supply.
There are many reasons that central banks purchase gold, including:
- Diversification: gold is seen as a safe haven asset that provides diversification against an unstable economy and geopolitical turmoil.
- Inflation Hedge: during times of crisis gold is widely used as an inflation hedge that performs positively in tough times.
- Liquidity: gold is a highly tradable, liquid asset across the world.
- Policy Tool: gold serves a a highly valuable collateral.
- Strategic Investing: Central banks purchase gold to serve as an alternative investment to minimize their dependency on the dollar.
- Long Term Value: gold has stood the test of time and is a great long-term investment.
That being said, with the price of gold constantly setting record highs we’ve seen a surge in demand online for people searching for gold related terms. Tim Schmidt, an accredited investor and Entrepreneur from Florida, who covers the industry on Gold 401k, a website that helps investors learn about how to add gold to their retirement accounts, said that online searches for gold are on the rise. The chart below shows trends pulled from Google.
According to Schmidt, the last quarter showed a rise of over 49% in searches for the term “gold investing.” Perhaps the most incredible part of this trend is that this happened with the stock market making new highs.
It’s no secret the war in Ukraine in tandem with the Middle East tension is driving gold prices in what’s been an unprecedented time.
With an upcoming election that will most certainly shape the landscape of the world coming up, all eyes will be on precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. It’s largely thought that if Trump wins, the stock market will surge. The opposite can be said about Harris. If she wins, the stock market could take a nosedive and create even more demand for precious metals.
If you aren’t invested in precious metals, there are many ways you can do so. The first way is to buy coins or bullion from a local dealer. Another way is to buy gold ETFs on any stock market brokerage online. Places like eTrade, TD Ameritrade, Schwab, and others all have access to gold and silver ETFS.
The last way to purchase it is through your retirement. That’s where Schmidt comes in. He feels that his retirement is his most important asset and encourages people to look into investing in gold or silver with their 401k, IRA, TSP, or other pension plan. Having even 5% of your retirement in precious metals can be a big hedge in case the stock market tanks.
We’ll have to see how the election plays out to see where the demand for gold investing goes. If certain things happen, the demand could be out of control.
