# Is there a GQ response to the right wing marketing of gold?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 13, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433 "2009-11-13T12:12:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 46

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433/46 "2009-11-21T01:53:04Z")

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> [@Bricker](#):
>
> You’re trying to define the word _investment_ in your own way, and welcome to do so, but in the world of finance, it is a universally-accepted fact that gold counts as an investment.

In all fairness, there’s an older distinction between investment and speculation, mentioned in Graham and Dodd among other places. Currently, I see the nomenclature “Speculative investment” every now and then.

“Gambling” consists of very high frequency trading where the expected return is negative, largely due to high transactions costs (in the form of a house take). In contrast investments typically have a positive expected rate of return (though they may have a negative inflation adjusted rate of return). That’s my take anyway.

“Speculation”: [Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](http://www.answers.com/topic/speculation)  
There are many definitions. I think **Chronos** was getting at the, “…practice of engaging in business in order to make quick profits from fluctuations in prices, as opposed to the practice of investing in a productive enterprise in order to share in its earnings.”

Incidentally, many finance textbooks don’t mention gold in their indexes. One that did (Sharpe, et al) devoted but a third of a page to it in the Appendix to the last chapter in the book. They quoted a 1984 study that said that gold amounted to over 6% of the world market wealth portfolio. I suspect much of that was in India and wonder whether they included central bank holdings in the estimate.

FWIW, I think gold can be speculation, consumption or investment depending upon the reasons for purchase. But if the buyer is unclear on the concepts of correlation, diversification or beta, methinks that they are not engaging in investment but rather something else.  
**Oh yeah, the OP**  
Talk radio tends to be [highly emotional](http://www.frumforum.com/talk-radio-gets-angrier-as-its-revenues-drop). Perhaps fear mongering gets the audience primed for a form of wealth that they can hold in their hands. Gold is reassuring in that way. More to the point, “The [dirty little secret of conservative talk radio](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/rush-limbaugh200905?currentPage=2) is that the average age of listeners is 67 and rising…” Old emotional white guys with even a small pool of assets to play with might be considered an attractive demographic for precious metal marketing.

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