The Allure of Something You Can Kick
This is why I find myself thinking more about ‘hard assets’. It’s an old fashioned idea, I grant you, but one that feels increasingly relevant. It’s the simple principle of owning things you can, if you were so inclined, physically touch. Things that cannot be summoned into existence by a committee decision. Gold is the classic example, of course. For thousands of years, when people have lost faith in their rulers or their currency, they’ve turned to that shiny, inert metal.
A company like Newmont Mining doesn’t just trade in abstract concepts. It digs actual gold out of the ground. When inflation fears rise and the value of a pound or a dollar feels uncertain, the price of gold often goes up. It’s a simple, almost primal, relationship. The same logic applies to silver, which has the added benefit of being crucial for industry, giving it a foot in both the monetary and the practical worlds.