Wealth Advisers are Urging the Ultra-Rich to Buy Gold

As stock markets roar back from the coronavirus-led rout, advisers to the world's wealthy are urging them to hold more gold, questioning the strength of the rally and the long-term impact of global central banks' cash splurge.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most private banks recommended their clients hold none or just a tiny amount of gold.

Wealthy clients are increasingly being told by financial advisers to buy gold, betting the Fed's binge of bond buying and an overbought stock market will soon push the precious metal's price up — potentially to its highest ever.

What's happening: A new report from Reuters surveying nine private banks that collectively handle around $6 trillion in assets for the world’s ultra-rich, found they had advised clients to increase their allocation to gold.

• All of them said they expected gold prices to end the year higher than they are now.

What they're saying: UBS predicts gold will hit $1,800 by year-end in its base-case scenario and could even touch a record high of $2,000 in the event of a second wave of novel coronavirus infections, Reuters' Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Simon Jessop report.

• “With the recent equity rally, people have become more nervous. People are actively seeking out portfolio hedges that might perform well in a range of scenarios,” Kiran Ganesh from UBS’ chief investment office said in the article.
• Morgan Stanley added a 5% position to commodities including gold in all its models at the end of March.

Between the lines: Gold has been trading in a tight range since April, despite a breakout in the stock market. That could change if wealthy investors begin to make significant moves into gold.

• "The boost in demand could be a self-fulfilling prophecy for the metal’s price, as any shift in allocation from bond and equity markets, estimated at up to a combined $200 trillion, has a much larger impact on the smaller gold market, estimated at less than $5 trillion," the article notes.

June 19, 2020