Mark Mobius, a veteran investor, gave a blanket endorsement to purchasing gold, mentioning that accumulating bullion will collect rewards over the long term as leading central banks loosen monetary policy and the rise of cryptocurrencies serves only to reinforce the demand for genuinely hard assets.
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Founder of Mobius Capital Partners LLP said: “Gold’s long-term future is up and up. I think you have to obtain it at any level, frankly”.
This month was prosperous for gold, it hit a six-year high on prospects for easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and other central banks to support growth that’s been impacted by the prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China.
Mobius commented on this: “With the efforts by the central banks to lower interest rates, they’re going to be printing like crazy”. He also recommends allocating about 10% of a portfolio to physical bullion. In the interview on Tuesday, he didn’t spell out a price target for gold in his on-air remarks.
The growing role of digital currencies such as Bitcoin has impelled a discussion in the precious metals market both about their essential worth, and whether their rising popularity will detract from traditional haven gold. For Mobius, their advent will boost bullion consumption.
“You have all these currencies, modern currencies coming into play,” he said. “I call them ‘psycho currencies,’ because it’s a matter of faith whether you believe in Bitcoin or any of the other cyber-currencies. I think with the growth of that, there’s going to be a requirement for real, hard assets, and that includes gold.”
Spot gold - which hit $1,535.11 an ounce on Aug. 13, the highest since 2013 - sold at $1,498.47 on Tuesday and is up 17% this year. Mobius correctly prognosticated in early July that rates would top $1,500.