Why Your Pension Can Own Gold and Your 401(k) Still Can’t

Pension funds have owned gold for decades. 401(k) plans almost never do, and it isn’t because gold is a bad idea. A new federal rule is trying to close that gap. Here’s what it changes, and what it doesn’t.

What Is the Permanent Portfolio? Harry Browne’s 25% Gold Allocation Explained

Most advisors cap gold at 5–15% of a portfolio. Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio puts it at a full 25%. This piece unpacks why he drew the line there, how the strategy held up in 2008, the 1970s, and 2022, and what the honest case against it looks like.

Two Investors Ran the Debt Math Separately. Both Landed on 15% Gold.

Ray Dalio’s August 21 post cited an $11 trillion debt-service figure behind his call to hold 10-15% of a portfolio in gold. Days later, gold-app CEO David McAlvany independently reached a strikingly similar conclusion — and neither man sizes bitcoin anywhere close to gold.

Vault Storage vs. Gold ETFs: Who Owns the Gold You Paid For?

A gold ETF share and a bar in a vault sound like the same investment. They’re not. One is a claim on a trust that only Authorized Participants can redeem for metal; the other is allocated ownership you can verify. Here’s what each option actually gives you, and what it costs.

Why the 10-5-3 Rule Fails Gold and Silver Investors

Excerpt:
The 10-5-3 rule helps investors set return expectations for stocks, bonds, and cash. But gold and silver aren’t paper assets — and measuring them with a framework built for yield and earnings leads to the wrong conclusions every time. Here’s what precious metals investors use instead.

BofA Says the Stock Market Is About to Snap Back. Gold Is Down 3% This Year. Do the Math.

Bank of America placed current equity speculation at its most extreme since 1999 to 2000 — the year before gold began a decade-long, 659% bull run. Gold is down 3% year-to-date while the S&P 500 is up 9%. When earnings-driven assets compress from these extremes, capital moves toward assets that require no earnings at all. That mechanism has not changed.

How Is Gold Taxed When You Sell It? The 28% Collectibles Rule Explained

Excerpt:

Sell physical gold or silver, and the IRS doesn’t tax you like a stockholder — it taxes you like someone who sold a painting. Here’s the 28% collectibles rule behind that gap, how it treats ETFs like GLD differently from mining stocks, and what it means for gifting, inheriting, or holding metal in an IRA.

The Debasement Trade Explained: Mechanism, History, and What It Means for Gold

Five years ago, “debasement trade” was Austrian economics jargon. Today Goldman Sachs, Citi, and J.P. Morgan use it in their research notes. Here’s what it means, why it works, and why gold and silver are the primary instruments.

Gold or Silver First? A First-Time Buyer’s Framework

Most guides tell you gold is safer and silver is cheaper. That’s true and useless. This 4-question framework maps your budget, goals, storage, and liquidity needs to a clear starting point — so your first precious metals purchase is the right one.

Gold Portfolio Allocation: Why Wall Street Is Rewriting the 60/40

For forty years, the 60/40 portfolio was the default prescription for the serious investor. That model worked because stocks and bonds moved in opposite directions when markets got scared. That relationship is broken — and the institutions that built trillion-dollar businesses on it are now replacing bonds with gold.