A growing number of respected Wall Street voices are sending the same message to investors: make room for gold.
The precious metal is on pace for its strongest year since 1979, driven by concerns over U.S. deficits, global debt burdens, persistent inflationary pressures, and a weakening dollar. Legendary investors including Ray Dalio, Jeffrey Gundlach, and David Einhorn are urging clients and institutions alike to increase exposure to gold as a strategic allocation in portfolios. For wealth advisors and RIAs guiding clients through an increasingly complex environment, the renewed focus on gold underscores its role as both a hedge and a long-term store of value.
Ray Dalio: Debt Pressures Will Elevate Gold
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has been outspoken about the risks tied to ballooning government debt and aggressive monetary policies. At a recent investment conference in Singapore, Dalio described the U.S. fiscal trajectory as “unsustainable,” warning that mounting deficits will ultimately undermine the dollar and other fiat currencies.
His argument is straightforward: excessive borrowing and money creation are inherently inflationary. Over time, that weakens trust in traditional currencies and drives capital toward alternative stores of wealth. “We are going to see non-fiat currencies become a more important store of wealth and money,” Dalio told attendees.
For advisors, Dalio’s guidance is highly practical. He suggests investors should allocate at least 10% of their portfolios to gold as part of a disciplined diversification strategy. In his view, bullion provides a hedge not just against inflation, but against systemic risks tied to government debt and central bank policies.
Dalio’s position highlights the need for RIAs to have frank conversations with clients about long-term risks that may not be reflected in quarterly statements but can materially affect wealth preservation. His call to action is not about speculation—it’s about ensuring clients maintain exposure to an asset that can hold value when confidence in fiat erodes.
Jeffrey Gundlach: Gold as Insurance
Known as Wall Street’s “Bond King,” DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach has also emphasized gold’s relevance in today’s environment. He describes the metal not just as an investment, but as a form of insurance against macroeconomic instability.
Speaking with CNBC, Gundlach said allocating up to 25% of a portfolio to gold was “not excessive,” particularly given today’s weak-dollar backdrop and rising fiscal risks. He argued that the dollar’s decline is likely to persist, giving gold a structural advantage. “I think that is an insurance policy,” Gundlach said. “It’s in a winning mode because of the weaker dollar, and I believe that’s going to continue.”
For wealth advisors, Gundlach’s perspective reframes gold from being a tactical play to being part of a core strategic allocation. The scale of his recommendation—up to a quarter of a portfolio—demands attention. While most advisors may hesitate to embrace that level of exposure, the underlying message is clear: gold deserves more weight in today’s portfolios than many investors currently assign.
Gundlach has gone further, speculating that gold could push past $4,000 an ounce by year-end, representing meaningful upside from current levels. While price targets are always uncertain, the conviction behind his call reflects a view that gold’s role as a safe haven is being repriced higher by global markets.
David Einhorn: Gold as a Core Holding
Greenlight Capital co-founder David Einhorn has long been a champion of gold. His firm began building exposure during the 2008 financial crisis, when aggressive fiscal and monetary policies created what he saw as long-term risks to the dollar’s stability. That conviction has only deepened.
“Gold is about confidence in fiscal policy and monetary policy,” Einhorn told CNBC earlier this year. “Since we bought gold in 2008, it’s been clear to me that U.S. policies are both too aggressive and create a risk.”
For Einhorn, gold is not a tactical hedge but a permanent fixture in his portfolio. He views it as a stabilizer that counters the risks embedded in modern policy frameworks. His fund’s performance in the first half of the year illustrates the point: Einhorn credited gold as one of the key reasons why Greenlight outperformed the broader market. “It’s been a fabulous year for gold, which has been a core holding for us for a long time,” he said.
Einhorn has also suggested that he would be comfortable with gold eventually reaching $3,800 an ounce, reinforcing his conviction that the asset remains undervalued relative to the risks on the horizon. For RIAs, Einhorn’s approach is instructive: instead of treating gold as a short-term trade, positioning it as a structural allocation can help smooth performance across market cycles.
Why Wealth Advisors Should Pay Attention
Taken together, the calls from Dalio, Gundlach, and Einhorn mark a rare alignment of some of Wall Street’s most respected investors. While each approaches the issue from a different angle—deficits, inflation, currency weakness, policy credibility—the conclusion is consistent: gold’s role in portfolios is expanding.
For wealth advisors, this moment represents an opportunity to revisit client allocations to precious metals. Many investors remain underexposed, often because of outdated perceptions that gold is merely a crisis asset or an unproductive holding. Yet in today’s macro environment, those perceptions are increasingly at odds with reality.
Gold serves multiple functions:
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Inflation Hedge: Protects purchasing power when rising prices erode the value of fiat currencies.
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Currency Diversifier: Offers insulation when the dollar weakens or when global trust in fiat declines.
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Portfolio Stabilizer: Reduces volatility by behaving differently from equities and bonds, particularly in times of stress.
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Crisis Insurance: Provides liquidity and value preservation during market shocks.
Advisors also have more tools than ever to implement gold exposure. Beyond physical bullion, clients can access ETFs, mutual funds, mining equities, and even structured products that provide targeted exposure. The choice of vehicle should align with the client’s goals, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs, but the broader message remains the same: gold deserves a seat at the table.
The Macro Backdrop
The chorus of support for gold is not happening in a vacuum. The backdrop is one of unprecedented fiscal expansion, growing skepticism of central banks’ ability to control inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty that threatens to disrupt trade and financial stability.
Deficits are swelling not just in the U.S., but globally. Governments are borrowing heavily to support spending, and central banks remain under pressure to accommodate. These dynamics introduce structural risks that gold, as a non-fiat store of value, is uniquely positioned to hedge against.
Meanwhile, the dollar’s relative weakness further amplifies gold’s appeal. For international investors, bullion denominated in dollars becomes cheaper, fueling demand. For domestic investors, it serves as protection against the erosion of the dollar’s purchasing power.
Implementation for RIAs
For RIAs advising clients across wealth tiers, incorporating gold should be a deliberate process. Some practical steps include:
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Assess Current Exposure: Many portfolios have little to no gold allocation, leaving clients vulnerable to inflationary shocks or currency weakness.
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Right-Size the Allocation: While Dalio suggests 10% and Gundlach says up to 25%, advisors should tailor allocations to the client’s objectives. A range of 5–15% is often practical for balanced portfolios.
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Choose the Right Vehicle: Physical gold offers permanence but raises storage and insurance issues. ETFs and mutual funds provide liquidity and simplicity. Mining stocks add leverage but also introduce equity risk.
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Integrate Into Risk Models: Gold should not be treated as an afterthought. Advisors should model its impact on portfolio volatility, drawdowns, and correlations to ensure it strengthens the overall design.
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Educate Clients: Many clients still see gold through a narrow lens. Advisors have an opportunity to reframe the conversation around preservation, diversification, and strategic resilience.
A Strategic Allocation, Not a Trade
The consistent drumbeat from Dalio, Gundlach, and Einhorn is not about chasing short-term gains. It’s about recognizing the changing nature of risk and ensuring portfolios are equipped to endure. Gold’s strongest year since 1979 is not an accident—it’s a signal.
For RIAs, the takeaway is clear: now is the time to revisit gold’s role in client portfolios, not as a reactionary hedge, but as a strategic allocation. Whether the future holds sustained inflation, dollar weakness, or simply greater policy volatility, gold offers a form of insurance that cannot be replicated by equities or bonds.
As Wall Street legends make their case, wealth advisors have a chance to translate those insights into real client outcomes—building resilience, preserving purchasing power, and positioning portfolios for an uncertain future.
