By Weston Blasi
The hedge-fund billionaire says today’s economic times remind him of the 1970s
Ray Dalio touted gold as the precious metal surged to an all-time high above $4,000 an ounce.
‘If you look at it just from a strategic asset-allocation perspective, you would probably have something like 15% of your portfolio in gold, because it is one asset that does very well when the typical parts of the portfolio go down.’
That was Ray Dalio – the billionaire founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates – discussing how much gold it makes sense for investors to have in their portfolios.
Speaking Tuesday at the Greenwich Economic Forum in Connecticut, Dalio touted gold (GC00) while comparing the current economic landscape with that of the 1970s.
“It’s very much like the early ’70s. … Where do you put your money in?” he said. “When you are holding money and you put it in a debt instrument, and when there’s such a supply of debt and debt instruments, it’s not an effective storehold of wealth.”
Generally, gold is seen by some investors as a way to protect against inflation and market volatility, particularly in uncertain economic times. But Dalio’s 15% asset recommendation for gold holdings contrasts with the advice of many financial advisers who tell clients that a 60/40 split between stocks and bonds is optimal, with alternate assets like gold and commodities below a 10% threshold.
“There’s going to be some individuality to each portfolio,” Clifford Cornell, Certified Financial Planner at Bone Fide Wealth told MarketWatch. “Gold is the talk of the town, and it’s been a stellar year for the asset class, and people get FOMO [fear of missing out].”
Cornell does not offer a one-size-fits gold asset-allocation recommendation for clients, but noted 15% is a “pretty hefty allocation.”
Edward Hadad, a financial planner at Financial Asset Management Corp. with over 15 years of experience, is skeptical of Dalio’s comments on the precious metal.
“We advise to equites and bonds – assets that have earnings,” he said. “Gold is not going to pay you dividends. It’s not part of our models.”
If a client wants to have some of their portfolio in gold or alternative assets, Hadad recommends that portion should not exceed more than 5% of the total portfolio. “If somebody wants to speculate, we want to insure the totality of what we manage can still achieve your financial goals,” he said.
Similarly, one of BlackRock’s portfolio managers posted last month that a 2% to 4% strategic allocation for gold is preferred, while Fidelity generally advises a “small percentage” of gold exposure.
Representatives for Dalio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
See: What the dollar’s retreat from global dominance means for investors as gold hits new records
Dalio’s comments came as gold prices surged to an all-time high above $4,000 an ounce on Tuesday. Gold prices have spiked over 50% in 2025 amid mounting U.S. fiscal deficits, inflation, bets on falling interest rates and a weaker dollar, among others factors.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, a measure of the dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, is down just under 10% for the year.
-Weston Blasi
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10-07-25 1344ET
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