This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/46j36GM

Host Blaine Carver interviews Brett Bonecutter about his article “Is Gold a Good Investment?” prompted by Rand Paul’s Fort Knox visit and frequent client questions about gold. They outline why investors are drawn to gold—perceived capital preservation, durability/rarity, mistrust of fiat currency and debasement, de-dollarization, and crisis “shock absorber” appeal—while noting gold’s short-term volatility. They discuss gold’s valuation challenge as a non-productive asset with demand largely driven by its role as a proxy for money, and argue gold tracks M2 money supply more than CPI inflation (World Gold Council cites only 16% of gold price variation explained by CPI). Historical math shows gold can outperform in certain periods, but long-term equities vastly outpace it (e.g., $100 in 1928 to 2025: gold ~$21k vs S&P with reinvested dividends ~$1.16M). They conclude heavy gold allocations generally don’t fit most goals due to opportunity cost, with only small allocations potentially tolerable.

00:00 Is Gold Worth It

00:58 Fort Knox Bond Story

03:45 Why Clients Ask

04:50 Gold Bug Intuitions

06:18 Capital Preservation Evidence

09:19 Durability Debasement De-Dollarization

12:12 Crisis Insurance Debate

14:24 Valuation Conundrum

19:02 Speculation And ETFs

22:53 M2 Versus Inflation

26:31 Just Do The Math

33:04 Volatility Correlation Costs

38:27 So Is Gold Good

44:53 Wrap Up And Outro

Links mentioned in this episode:

• http://thoughtsonmoney.com
• http://thebahnsengroup.com