By Jeff Clark, Senior Analyst, GoldSilver and Adviser for Strategic Wealth Preservation.
A textbook in my Master of Psychology program theorized that most things in life come down to core drives—food, shelter, sex, etc. Throw in Freud’s pain and pleasure principals and this is supposedly what drives everything we do.
We had a good time poking fun of simplistic theories as to what motivates people. Human emotions and motivations are complex.
Except when it comes to money.
Our wallets are more often than not ruled by our most primal emotions, greed and fear, dating back to the days we huddled in caves. Despite all our sophistication and modern technology, most investors still think like a caveman/cavewoman when it comes to investing.
And what’s happening in the markets right now is so clear that even a caveman can see it.
See if you think 2019 will go down as the year one should have sold stocks and bought gold…
“Gold Good, Stocks Bad”
We read a lot of news around here, and while it isn’t obvious to most mainstream investors yet, there is a definite undercurrent in the markets right now. This trend shows that investors are moving away from stocks and toward gold. And not just by a little bit.
I put the different categories into boxes, and compared Then to Now. What message do you get from all this?
First up, gold funds and other holdings.
Next, trading volumes on gold around the world.
Third, central bank gold activity.
Last, here’s what stock insiders and others are doing right now.
As you can see, interest in gold is growing, while interest in stocks is fading. If I didn’t know anything else and just looked at this data, my gut would tell me it’s time to move away from stocks and into gold.
Big trends play out over years, not days or weeks. As more and more investors transition away from stocks and into gold, this trend should get bigger and stronger.
Is this the time to be a simple caveman or woman and buy gold and sell stocks? Only you can decide for yourself, but you probably know our answer.
Jeff Clark
Senior Precious Metals Analyst
This article was originally posted in the Strategic Wealth Preservation Blog and copied here with the permission of the author.