The Wall Street Journal: Missed the Gold Rally? Go for Silver
Article by Aaron Back in The Wall Street Journal
Gold has once again proven its mettle as a hedge against financial chaos. If history is any guide, the gains may have room to run further. But they could also soon be outshined by that other, less-adored precious metal.
The yellow metal is a contentious subject in the investment community, with passionate advocates and detractors alike. But a levelheaded look at the historical record suggests a clear conclusion: While it underperforms stocks vastly in the very long run, gold is also prone to extended periods of outperformance when things go awry. Silver rallies also tend to follow gold after a lag.
Gold did better than the S&P 500 in the 1970s and the first decade of this century. It protected investors from inflation in the first case and from a more general malaise from dot-com bust to financial crisis in the second.
It could be set to repeat the feat again. So far this decade, gold has returned 113% compared with 78% for the S&P 500 including dividends, according to FactSet.
Still, investors thinking about loading up on gold now could be .....