Should I switch some stocks to gold now?

From my experience, keep it small and disciplined: 5-8% in gold via an ETF, and rebalance with your core portfolio rather than chasing headlines.

Last year I stared down a rollercoaster of tech selloffs and rising inflation, and I asked myself if a slice of gold should replace some stock exposure. In my case, I didn’t dump half the portfolio into bullion; I treated gold like a weather vane, not a windstorm. I trimmed only a small portion of higher-valuation tech and plugged that into an equal slice of gold via an ETF. The rationale was simple: in stressed markets, gold tends to hold value or rally when real rates wobble and risk-on assets swing. The catch I learned is gold can underperform for long stretches when rates rise faster than inflation or when dollar strength fades; there’s no magic hedge. So I set a rule: keep gold at a cautious minority (roughly 5-15% of the equity/bond mix) and rebalance with discipline, not impulse. I also looked at costs, liquidity, and what I’d actually do with physical gold, nothing urgent, just a hedge. If your horizon is long and you’re worried about inflation or geopolitical shocks, a measured tilt can make sense, but don’t overcook it.