Investors are betting o🍬n gold this year as they hedge against uncertainties in the stock market and the economy.

Roughly 38% of investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets surveyed by asset manager State Street Global Advisors in July and August said they have gold in their portfolios. That's higher than the 20% who claimed to have gold exposure in the spring of 2023.

The average allocation in gold increased substantially too, from 14% in 2023 to 21% in 2024, according to State Street's survey.

Why Are Investors Betting On Gold?

Gold's reputation as a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:safe haven asset in times of stock market volatility is the biggest perceived 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:benefit of the investment according to roughly 43% of those surveyed. Other top reasons included using gold aꦓs a source of long-term returns and as a hedg🌸e against inflation.

Concerns about the economy and uncertainty leading up to the U.S. presidential elections had resulted in some stock market turbulence. That made inve💧stors nervous and had them looking at more conservative i🦹nvestments.

Gold was most popular amongst younger generations , according to State Street. More than 60% of millennials said they were invested in gold compared to 20% of Boomers.

Gold Investments Are Paying Off, For Now

Retail investors have piled billions into the precious metal in recent months as it climbed to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:multiple all-time highs. Since the beginning of the year, the price of spot gold has increased nearly 26%, slightly outpacing the S&P 500.

The majority of respondents to the State Street survey (54%) who were invested in gold said they held 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:gold bullion or physical gold, up from up from 49% in spring of 2023. The next most popular way to invest in gold was through a gold exchange-traded fund (44%), followed by gold collectibles 🤪(39%), and gold mining stocks (31%).

At retailers like Costco (COST), gold and silver bullion were big sellers online and in-store in the past quarter. After a pullback from gold ETFs earlier this year, retail investors returned by pouring $1.91 billion into them in September alone.

StateStreet manages SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the oldest and largest gold ETF in the U.S. with assets of nearly $72 billion at close of trading Friday.