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IPFS News Link • Gold and Silver

World's ultra-wealthy go for gold amid stimulus bonanza

• Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Simon Jessop

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

Now some are channelling up to 10% of their clients' portfolios into the yellow metal as the massive central bank stimulus reduces bond yields - making non-yielding gold more attractive - and raises the risk of inflation that would devalue other assets and currencies.

While gold prices have already risen 14% since the start of the year to $1,730 an ounce, many private bankers bet that gold - a hedge for both inflation and deflation - has further to run.

"Our view is that the weight of monetary supply, expansion, is going to ultimately be debasing to the dollar, and the Fed commitments, which (are) anchoring real rates, make the case for gold pretty sturdy," said Lisa Shalett, Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley (MS.N).

Nine private banks spoken to by Reuters, which collectively oversee around $6 trillion in assets for the world's ultra-rich, said they had advised clients to increase their allocation to gold. Of them, four provided forecasts and all saw prices ending the year higher than they are now.


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