Gold has had a notable run in 2026, and more everyday investors are asking: is investing in gold still worth it, or has the moment already passed? To help answer that, Jean Chatzky sat down with Meghan Pinchuk, Chief Investment Officer and Partner at Morton Wealth, for a fireside chat during a recent session of InvestingFixx, Jean’s investing club for women.
Their conversation covered why gold has long been considered a hedge against inflation, why its performance during past crises has been more mixed than its reputation suggests, and the practical differences between the various ways of investing in gold — physical bars, ETFs, and mining stocks among them.
The Real Reason Behind Investing in Gold as an Inflation Hedge
Investors have called gold an inflation hedge for decades, but Pinchuk says the mechanism behind that reputation is often misunderstood. Rather than protecting against inflation broadly, she explained, gold protects specifically against the declining value of paper currency.
“Gold, the way even people listening can think about it, the way we think about it, is it’s just money,” Pinchuk said. “So it’s really less than an investment, and it’s more of an alternative to just holding all of your cash or your money in the US dollar or other paper currencies around the world.”
She continued: “Unlike with paper dollars, gold can’t be printed, and so you don’t have this unlimited supply of them… It’s truly against the dollar. It’s like if they’re making more of the dollars, relative to dollars, gold should hold its value.”
Investing in Gold: Physical Bars vs. ETFs vs. Mining Stocks
For those ready to start investing in gold, Pinchuk broke down three main approaches, each with different costs and trade-offs.
Physical gold offers the most direct ownership, but comes with friction. “There’s a cost to the actual storage fees if it’s at a bank,” Pinchuk explained. “If it’s in your safe now, you need insurance. There are verifications… if you were to go to sell that back or liquidate it later.”
Gold ETFs are, in Pinchuk’s view, a more efficient option for most investors seeking price exposure. “The biggest thing to look at, though, is actually how that manager treats or holds the gold,” she said. “Because some ETFs, for example, can use futures, and they’re just tracking the price, and that’s not what we’re trying to accomplish typically with a real hedge.”
Gold mining stocks offer a different kind of exposure entirely — one tied to company performance rather than gold itself. “Historically it’s more of a levered play on gold,” Pinchuk said. “If gold goes up, it goes up, usually call it about two times what gold goes up. If it goes down, though, it’s going to go down about the same.”
For most investors, Pinchuk recommends a simpler approach: “I think the straight gold is a good idea. I think that is an easier one to stomach… If someone likes to be more opportunistic, I would say you could mix the miners in.”
How Much of Your Portfolio Should Go Toward Investing in Gold?
When asked what a reasonable allocation looks like for individual investors, Pinchuk offered a general range. “I think 5 to 10% allocations probably make sense,” she said. “In our portfolios, we target around 10% of what we call kind of a commodity type of bucket. So that’s mostly the straight gold, and a little bit of miners.”
MORE ON HERMONEY:
- The Sinking Fund System That Could Change the Way You Save
- The Money Reset: Why September Might Be a Better Time for Financial Resolutions Than January
- Ask Jean: “Where Can I Buy Used Smartphones For My Teens?”
This conversation took place during a recent session of InvestingFixx, Jean’s investing club for women. No prior investing experience is required, and your first month is free. Learn more at InvestingFixx.com.
