As the gold price surges to record highs, should we rush out and buy the precious metal?

FOR your special girl? Yes! Particularly if you think a gold necklace, bracelet or earrings will buy you a year’s credit for upcoming misdemeanours.

That would be an awesome investment!

But I’m guessing that’s not what the editor is asking. And, in any case, it’s unlikely to buy a full year’s forgiveness for stumbling home drunk, leaving toilet seats up or hesitating, even for a milli-second, on such questions as “does my bum look big in this?”

Buying gold as an investment? Hmmmm.

Gold is on one of the greatest bull runs in the history of … people using bull runs to describe strong markets.

From less than $300/oz in 2001, it recently topped $US1900/oz. Does that make it a good investment? If you bought it at $US300 and sold it now, yeah, I reckon you could call that a GREAT investment.

But the 10-year boom was preceded by a 10-year funk, where it actually went backwards.

With the usual warnings about “past performance being no indicator of future performance”, where’s it headed now?

I’m not going to try to kid you. I wouldn’t have the foggiest. Clueless. (Now, if Alicia Silverstone wants me to buy her a gold anything, I’m in!)

Reading market experts on gold suggests both a bubble and that underlying demand will push it much higher. The upwards momentum seems pretty strong.

But the same rules apply. Gold should only ever be a small portion of a diversified portfolio. Do proper research. Be aware that gold doesn’t produce an income. Perhaps buy some quality gold miners rather than physical gold itself.

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting.

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