Gold Mentioned As Alternative In Retirement Savings Plans

Typically, or perhaps stereotypically, an asset gets its day in the mainstream media when it's about to hit its peak. Since people are most interested in an investment that's gone nowhere but up, an asset becomes most buzz-worthy when it's in a parabolic rise that's destined to fall apart. So, it rates the most mention in regular media at about the time it's about to get hammered.

A story webbed by the Montreal Gazette sticks out for the above reason. Gold's mini-bubble ended more than two months ago, and it had a difficult time last week. Nevertheless, the Gazette has webbed an article discussing the merits of putting 5-10% of retirement-plan funds into gold.

Also noticeable is the fact that the the author is not skeptical but cautious. He includes a story about a pair of imprudent people who bought gold near the top with borrowed money back in late '79, and he distances himself from goldbugs. He also pairs a bullish quote from Jim Rogers with a skeptical one from Nouriel Roubini. Overall, he's pretty even-handed.


I should mention that the 5-10% figure is the standard allocation recommended for insurance or hedging purposes. There's nothing wrong with that; even Jim Rogers shied away from investing in gold in late November. He went long the greenback; the latter trade has worked out quite well for him.