Praised be Jesus!  
We begin our Market Update with those three words, not to alienate non-Christians, but because of the extraordinary promise heaven made surrounding them, and the implications applicable to finance and investing. Specifically, heaven has said that when the Gospel is proclaimed, “the Truth will miraculously win.” As much as ever in our lives, in every area of our lives, that is what we need today – the Truth to miraculously win.  

As it relates to finance, we are amazed at the number of wealthy families who blindly take financial consultants’ advice, and believe that close to 0% physical gold allocations are ideal for protecting wealth in this environment. May the truth miraculously win for your family – if we are wrong, and close to 0% physical gold allocations are best for your family, may the Holy Spirit of wisdom make this clear to you and guide you away from investing in metals. If, however, it is wise to include physical gold in your portfolio, may the Holy Spirit make that apparent to you, and may nothing prevent us from helping you protect your family.  

So, we plan to begin each Market Update moving forward with what may be the three most important words in the English language: Praised be Jesus.  

Having presented to literally hundreds of financial advisors over the years, there is a common behavior trait that we observe. No matter how much data we produce to answer a particular objection, rather than admitting the overwhelming evidence and acknowledging gold’s differential role in a portfolio, advisors simply no longer consider their prior objection important. Once disproven, advisors begin presenting another concern, and another, and another. It is reprehensible behavior, in our opinion, as data should be what leads decisions; instead, financial research is being ignored by advisors.  

We submit that perhaps the most important question for you to have clarity on today with your advisor is the following: Why have you advised me to have 0% gold in my portfolio?  

In most cases, their response will begin with:  
We never advised you to have 0% gold in your portfolio... (it’s just a coincidence that throughout the years, we never saw fit that your portfolio should have any physical gold. Even though wealth preservation is important to your family, we never felt it worth making sure you understood.) 

Whatever excuse they give you as to why they haven’t allocated physical gold to your portfolio, press the question – Why don’t you have physical gold in my portfolio today? 

It’s vital to understand what your advisor thinks is in your portfolio that replicates physical gold, making gold unnecessary. Once you understand that, it will be clear to get your head around risky assumptions your advisor is likely making, and will help you to better understand the vulnerabilities to your wealth portfolio.  

And if you are your own advisor, you want to be clear on that question too. Why don’t I have a significant allocation to physical gold in my portfolio? 

While there are many beneficial attributes to holding gold, as a refresher, here are three top reasons we suggest owning some physical gold:  

• First, gold has preserved wealth over millennia, in recent centuries, and since the U.S. government unconstitutionally exited the gold standard, crushing the value of the dollar.  
  • Unless 100% of your wealth is geared towards making money, be clear with your advisor as to the track record of whatever assets are in your portfolio with the intent of preserving your wealth. Be clear on the liabilities of those assets, and the liabilities of their issuers. Be clear if it is likely that those assets will preserve wealth in the future, as they have in the past or if debts might change the stability of what you consider safe in your portfolio. 
• Secondly, since gold began trading freely in the United States, it has had negative correlation with stocks, bonds, and much of real estate.  
  • Rule number one of any well-constructed portfolio is that it be diversified. Owning 50 stocks instead of 10 stocks does not improve the degree of diversification quite like adding in gold to a portfolio does. In periods of inflation, which have consistently surrounded nations that were overly indebted, stocks and bonds have also not provided portfolio diversification as both command lower valuations in higher inflationary environments. Be clear on what your advisor thinks you own in your portfolio that has historically provided safety if your stocks, bonds, and real estate should experience stress. 
• Third, gold is a currency outside the financial system that gives owners liquidity and counterparty diversification.  
  • Again, get clarity from your financial advisor as to what assets you have in your portfolio that give you liquidity outside the financial system, as systemic risk cannot be ignored due to massive debts today.  

We would welcome hearing your advisor's justifications for preventing your family from protecting your wealth using physical gold.  

As it relates to the third point above, regarding counterparty diversification, we would like to highlight a video done by David Webb. Originally brought to our attention by patriots working in Major League Baseball, it has become a topic that is urgent on the minds of Family Offices this month. The key takeaway, in our opinion, from this exposé is that laws have been changed in the United States that dramatically decrease an investors’ right of ownership in financial securities today. While many would say this is in the realm of conspiracy theory, Webb’s thorough presentation, referencing numerous public filings, pushes skepticism surrounding his work instead into the realm of deadly naïveté, in our opinion.