Conclusions and Implications for Portfolio Management
Are gold mining stocks are more like gold or more like stocks?
They are more like gold. What do these results imply for portfolio
management? Because gold mining stock returns behave far more
like gold returns than like stock returns suggests that the two are
substitutes in an overall portfolio. Closer scrutiny implies that
this is not necessarily the case. Suppose that an investor has an
existing portfolio comprised solely of stocks, none of which are
gold mining stocks. If the question posed is: “Should my overall
portfolio include x% in gold in addition to the stock component,
or should my overall portfolio include x% in gold mining stocks
in addition to the stock component, or is either choice the
same?” The answer our results point to is for gold to be added.
The substantially lower correlation of gold with stocks than gold
mining stocks with stocks implies that gold provides superior
diversification benefits. A caveat is that if the gold mining stocks
provide a higher expected return than gold, this could outweigh
gold’s superiority as a risk-reducing asset in a portfolio when the
overall risk-return profile is considered. While gold mining stocks
could have higher returns than gold, as has happened in the past,
in our period of analysis this was not the case. If the question
posed instead is: “If my portfolio of stocks does not include gold
mining stocks, and I cannot or will not hold any gold, should I
add gold mining stocks?” The answer is that question is yes, gold
mining stocks can provide a good, but not perfect substitute for
holding gold in an overall portfolio.