Should I Buy Gold? Returns, Risks & Portfolio Strategy

Gold Rush or Fool’s Gold?

What’s behind the recent surge in gold prices and should you reconsider gold as part of your investment portfolio? Is gold truly a safe haven, or is it riskier than most people think? How does gold stack up against stocks, bonds, and real estate over the long term? These are the questions we answer in today’s episode.

Hosts Keith Matthews and Marcelo Taboada break down gold’s true performance, risk profile, and role within a diversified portfolio. They compare gold to stocks, bonds, and real estate, drawing on decades of data to examine returns, volatility, and long-term outcomes. They explore why many investors already hold gold without realizing it and challenge common myths about golds ability to protect against inflation.

This episode is ideal for investors feeling the FOMO around gold, anyone questioning if gold should have a “line item” in their portfolio, and those who want clarity on how gold fits with their broader financial goals. Tune in for clear, evidence-based answers on whether chasing headline gains in gold is a sound investment strategy.

Is Gold a Good Investment?

• Welcome and episode setup: Gold’s current hype and listener pain points (00:01)
• Gold’s recent returns and the psychology driving investor FOMO (01:49)
• Geopolitics, government debt, and the “apocalypse narrative” (02:47)
• Price history: Gold’s massive surge in recent years (03:08)
• The physical and historical properties of gold – why it captured value for 6,000+ years (04:06)
• Modern demand drivers: Jewelry, technology, central bank reserves, investor sentiment (04:49)
• Gold as investment: Why isn’t it a productive asset? (06:07)
• Opportunity cost explained – what you give up when investing in gold (06:50)
• 30-year and 220-year returns: Gold vs. stocks, TSX, and Canadian home prices (07:57)
• Volatility myth busting: Is gold less risky than equities? (09:33)
• Gold and inflation: Does it reliably protect purchasing power? (10:54)
• Decade-by-decade: When gold outpaced inflation, and when it didn’t (12:37)
• Vivid history: Keith Matthews’s memories of the 1970s gold boom and bust (13:27)
• Recent performance: Gold vs. S&P 500 from 2018–2024 (15:28)
• Portfolio construction: The All-Weather and Permanent Portfolio models (16:39)
• John Bogle’s perspective: Gold is speculative, not productive (18:07)
• Gold exposure in the TSX and why Canadian investors may already own enough (19:14)
• TMA’s evidence-based philosophy: Diversification, discipline, and productive assets (21:36)
• Final takeaways on resisting hype, focusing on what you can control (22:27)

Thanks for Listening!

Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at lawrence@tma-invest.com or 514-695-0096 ext.112 Follow Tulett, Matthews & Associates on social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, and more! Follow The Empowered Investor on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram