James Turk refutes, line-by-line, a Financial Times editorial dismissing the benefits of owning gold. First and foremost, Turk explains gold is not an investment.
“Stocks are investments, and gold is money. They are different things, with different uses, so they cannot logically be compared. Stocks do generate returns over time, whereas sound money does not. Gold’s appreciation during periods of monetary turmoil, like the present one, is simply the loss of purchasing power of the national currency in which gold’s price is measured.”
As we don’t compare owning dollars to owning stocks, it is not appropriate to compare gold and stocks. They are used for different purposes. However, all three — dollars, gold and stocks — can gain or lose value. When someone sells stocks and buys dollars to avoid stock losses, the person may lose more purchasing power by holding the dollar.