Do millennials get gold?
If you embrace the stereotypes, you may think not. After all, millennials have both feet firmly planted in the digital world. Gold is pretty “old-fashioned.” You might assume they would be far more interested in cryptocurrencies. Or perhaps you just figure millennials aren’t investing at all.
But as it turns out, the millennial generation seems to be just as interested in gold as their parents.
The World Gold Council cites an informal study it did in 2016. It surveyed 8,000 retail investors – 2,000 each in China, India, the US and Germany. When asked how they would invest $1,000, millennials showed the same preference for gold as older investors. And they were far more interested in physical gold, with 16% saying they would buy gold coins or gold bars. About 6% said they would opt for gold-backed financial products such as ETFs.
German and Indian millennials showed the greatest affinity for gold, with 19% in each market opting for physical metal.
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A more recent global investment survey by Legg Mason showed the US millennials were the most likely age-group to view gold as an attractive investment. Thirty-four percent of millennials picked gold as one of their “top-three best opportunities” over the next 12-month period. That compared with 23% of the overall population.
In an article published by Kitco News, Lobo Tiggre made some interesting points. He said at the end of the day, what really matters is that gold is valuable. Millennials know this as well as anybody. As he put it, millennials are quite used to the idea that gold has tangible value. “It’s deeply entrenched in most cultures around the world. It’s in our movies and books. It’s in our wedding rings and gifts.”
He made another interesting point: “Gold is used as money in many of the games Millennials play.”
In other words, like the generations before, millennials have been immersed in a world that values gold. Even bitcoin – the cryptocurrency many consider a rival to gold – is often depicted as a gold coin with some high-tech markings.
Tiggre speculates that cryptos aren’t really a threat to gold. They actually threaten to undermine the fiat currency system.
The crypto craze is destroying faith in fiat currencies among younger people. They do get the implications of infinite money printing. Bitcoin’s “inflation-proof nature” is one of its main selling points. It may well be that when all is said and done, it’s paper money that gets dropped, not gold.”
Reprinted from Schiffgold.com.
