Investors are investing in gold this year to protect themselves from uncertainties in the stock market and economy.

About 38% of investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets said they had gold in their portfolios, according to a July and August survey by asset manager State Street Global Advisors. This is higher than the 20% that claim gold is found in spring 2023.

The average allocation to gold also increased significantly, from 14 percent in 2023 to 21 percent in 2024, according to State Street’s survey.

Why Are Investors Betting on Gold?

reputation of gold safe harbor In times of stock market volatility, wealth is the largest perceived asset benefit of investment According to approximately 43% of respondents. Other important reasons include gold’s use as a source of long-term returns and a hedge against inflation.

Concerns and uncertainty about the economy before the US presidential elections caused some turmoil in the stock market. This situation made investors nervous and caused them to turn to more conservative investments.

According to State Street, gold was most popular among younger generations. While more than 60% of Generation Y say they have invested in gold, this rate is 20% for the Boomer generation.

Gold Investments are bearing fruit for now

Retail investors have poured billions of dollars into the precious metal in recent months. multiple all-time highs. Since the beginning of the year, the price of spot gold has risen almost 26%, slightly outpacing the S&P 500.

The majority (54%) of those who participated in the State Street survey and invested in gold said they held gold. gold bullion or physical gold, up 49% in spring 2023. The next most popular way to invest in gold was a gold exchange-traded fund (44%), followed by collectible gold (39%) and gold mining stocks. (31%).

At retailers like Costco (COST), gold bullion and silver were among the big sellers online and in stores in the last quarter. After pulling back from gold ETFs earlier this year, retail investors have bounced back, pouring $1.91 billion into them in September alone.

StateStreet manages SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is the oldest and largest gold ETF in the United States, with approximately $72 billion in assets as of Friday’s close.