State Street’s Doshi: Gold merits strategic allocation

Aakash Doshi, global head of gold strategy at State Street Investment Management, recommended a standing allocation to gold during a recent VettaFi webcast moderated by Todd Rosenbluth.

Doshi noted gold’s demand comes from cyclical, non-cyclical and counter-cyclical sources. He said that mix can help smooth price moves across economic cycles and supports the metal’s role as a reserve asset.

“It can go through a full economic cycle with buffered sources of consumption,” Doshi said. “Because it has these diverse sources of demand, gold, which doesn’t pay coupons, does provide capital appreciation. And gold, particularly through the counter-cyclical part on the investment side, can be used as a good source of risk management.”

He pointed to longer-term structural factors that support demand: high global debt levels, concerns about currency debasement, policy uncertainty at major central banks and rising geopolitical fragmentation.

For implementation, Doshi referenced exchange-traded products. He noted SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) as a widely used vehicle and SPDR Gold Minishares Trust (GLDM) as a lower-cost option that can serve as a core holding.

Panelists Bradley Jenkins, founder and CIO at Market Guard, and Keith Buchanan, partner and senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments, debated whether gold belongs in portfolios as a strategic holding or a tactical tool. Jenkins said, “It’s not about predicting when you’ll need gold — it’s about ensuring it’s already in there when you do.” Buchanan described maintaining a core strategic position while making opportunistic tactical moves based on technical signals in products such as GLD.

The webcast covered how gold fits into diversified portfolios and pointed investors to liquid ETFs for exposure. A replay of the session is available for those seeking continuing-education credits and for further detail on the panelists’ remarks.