"Gold Is a Safe Haven — Always Hold Some"

Gold's reputation as a safe haven is dangerously misleading, as it underperforms the S&P 500 in every 30-year period in modern history. It generates no dividends or earnings—its value rests solely on collective belief rather than productive assets. Over the past 50 years, gold delivered an average annual return of just 2.5%, a full 7.5 percentage points below the S&P 500's 10% average. Worse, it acts as a weaker inflation hedge than a diversified stock portfolio, which is why financial planners rarely recommend holding more than 5% of assets in gold.