Gold Retreats After Record Run — Up Over 50% in 2025

The price of gold (XAUUSD) slipped on Friday, cooling after touching a record high above $4,300 per ounce earlier this week. The metal remains up more than 50% year-to-date and has nearly doubled since early 2024, easily outpacing the S&P 500’s modest gains this year.

According to CNBC Pro’s Fred Imbert, gold’s stellar performance marks its best year since the 2008 financial crisis. What makes this rally especially noteworthy is that, unlike in previous surges, stocks are not in a bear market — highlighting how macroeconomic shifts are changing investor behavior.

A New Portfolio Mix: 60/20/20 Strategy Emerging

Wall Street strategists are now rethinking the traditional 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds. A growing number advocate for a 60/20/20 allocation, cutting the bond share to 20% and adding 20% exposure to gold and bitcoin (BTCUSD).

They argue that stocks and bonds are increasingly correlated, while inflation, geopolitical tension, and rising debt levels have eroded bonds’ role as a defensive hedge. Gold’s accessibility through ETFs like SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA: GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (NYSEARCA: IAU) has also broadened investor participation.

Buffett’s Timeless Take on Gold

While investors flock to gold, Warren Buffett’s skepticism remains legendary. At Berkshire Hathaway’s 2011 shareholder meeting, Buffett contrasted gold’s static nature with the productivity of businesses and farmland:

“You can take all the gold in the world and form a cube 67 feet on a side… It would be worth about $7 trillion. For that same $7 trillion, you could own all the farmland in the U.S., seven ExxonMobils, and still have a trillion dollars left over. Which would you rather have?”

For Buffett, gold’s lack of utility or yield makes it inferior to productive assets that compound over time. While traders see short-term upside, long-term value investors continue to side with Buffett’s view.

The Bottom Line

Gold’s unprecedented rally underscores a shifting investment landscape driven by uncertainty, inflation fears, and alternative asset enthusiasm. But as Buffett’s remarks remind investors — shiny assets don’t always shine forever.