On May 16, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that “the U.S. economy hangs in the balance” if lawmakers don’t act swiftly to increase the U.S. debt ceiling—the total amount that the federal government is allowed to borrow. The debt ceiling may be reached as early as June 1, 2023.
As regular readers of “Gold News & Views” and those who follow economic news know, fights over the debt ceiling are nothing new, and many analysts still believe that, as before, Congress will take last-minute actions to keep the government running and the nation from defaulting on its debts. But even if we come out of this without economic catastrophe, financial markets will still have a lot of uncertainty to contend with—and for many Americans, that means it’s time to consider putting money into gold or other historically recognized safe-haven assets.
Consumers believe that real estate is the best long-term asset—but its popularity is falling.
Gallup recently released the results of a new poll in which Americans were given a list of long-term assets and asked which they think is the best option. Prior to 2013, gold held that top spot before being replaced by real estate. That trend continued in 2023, with 34% of Americans choosing real estate as the best long-term asset—though that follows a sharp drop of more than 10% from the previous year.
In fact, another Gallup poll found that only 21% of Americans believe that now is a good time to buy a house—a record low that follows a 9% drop from Gallup’s 2022 poll results.
A number of factors may be affecting real estate’s decreasing popularity—among them high interest rates on mortgages and low available inventory. Inflation may also play a role, as an increased cost of living reduces one’s ability to afford buying a home.
And wouldn’t you know it, these same factors may be leading more Americans to gold:
Americans’ Perceptions of Best Long-Term Investment
Which of the following do you think is the best long-term investment: bonds, real estate, savings accounts or CDs, stocks or mutual funds, (or) gold?
Perception of gold as the best long-term asset almost doubled between 2022 and 2023.
In my time as CEO of U.S. Money Reserve, I’ve seen it happen time and again—as market uncertainty and volatility increase, more Americans turn to gold as a way to help protect their hard-earned money.
We’ve already written previously about how governments are continuing to buy record-breaking amounts of physical gold and how gold neared its all-time high price earlier this month. It’s likely no coincidence that these events are happening at a time when high inflation continues to persist while interest rates rise—increasing both the cost of living and the cost of borrowing.
But while these factors may make it more difficult to, for example, buy a home, there is little to no cost barrier for owning physical gold. The Gold American Eagle, for example, is struck in weights as low as one-tenth ounce. Perhaps this is why, as the Gallup poll shows, gold’s perception as the best long-term asset nearly doubled among Americans in the past year, rising from 15% in 2022 to 26% in 2023. Notably, this poll places gold well above other traditional savings vehicles such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, savings accounts, and CDs.
As a way to grow wealth long-term, gold seems to have lost none of its luster.
Now is the time to add gold to your portfolio.
The writing is on the wall. Government officials are warning of “worldwide panic” in the event of a U.S. default, interest rates and inflation both remain high, and governments around the world continue to purchase physical gold to help diversify and protect their holdings.
As a long-term asset, gold remains a strong option for many Americans, with more than a quarter saying they believe it’s the best long-term asset option. And yet many Americans are unaware of how easy it can be to buy physical gold or use existing retirement funds to move assets like stocks and bonds over into physical gold.
That’s why I, and U.S. Money Reserve as a whole, work so hard to ensure that we provide not only the highest quality precious metals products on the market today, but also a wealth of informational resources to help our clients make informed, educated decisions regarding the future of their portfolios.
If you’re concerned with the long-term safety of your assets, what high inflation may mean for your financial legacy, or—like me—believe that “waiting to see what happens next” poses too great a risk to your portfolio, I encourage you to call U.S. Money Reserve today. Ask for one of our free Gold Information Kits and learn why so many Americans see gold as the number one long-term asset.
