A new Bank of America survey of fund managers indicates that 49% believe gold is the “most crowded trade,” displacing the Magnificent 7 tech stocks from this position for the first time in two years.
Data on gold ETFs suggests that gold is far from overcrowded: Gold ETFs currently make up only about 2% of all ETF assets, compared to over 8% during the 2011 bull market.
Gold mining ETFs are even more underrepresented, accounting for approximately 0.25% of all stock ETFs, down from nearly 1.5% in 2011.
It appears the current gold bull market is not driven by retail or institutional investors but primarily by central bank buying, contradicting the “crowded trade” narrative and suggesting significant room for market growth.