Long-term returns? Meh…
Gold simply doesn’t compete over the long term against other investments, whether that’s 10 years, a century, or even two centuries. A dollar invested in gold in 1802 would now be worth $3.21. The same buck invested in stocks would be worth $930,500 and bonds $1,505. This lack of performance holds across all time frames and both rising and falling markets. From 1972 — the first full year after the end of the gold standard — through 2013, common stocks returned 14.68% in falling rate environments while gold futures returned 7.85%. In rising rate environments, stocks returned 8.47% while gold only returned 4.86%. When rates were flat, stocks provided a gain of 10.61% and gold returned 8.61 percent.
