Bank of America's latest fund manager survey, reported August 18, shows a rising share of professional investors now view gold as undervalued even though the spot price recently slipped. This guide explains why that matters during a bond sell-off, how retail investors can add gold as a portfolio hedge, and how to track gold ETFs next to your stocks with price alerts in PortfolioTrackr.
What did BofA's fund manager survey say about gold?
BofA's August 18 fund manager survey found a growing share of institutional investors describe gold as undervalued, a notable shift given that the price recently pulled back. When professional money managers, the same people who allocate billions, start calling an asset cheap, retail investors tend to pay attention.
The context matters more than the headline. The survey landed during a stretch of weakness in long-dated government bonds, the asset that has traditionally cushioned equity drawdowns. When bonds and stocks fall together, investors look for a third leg to stand on.
- Gold's appeal rises when real yields wobble and confidence in bonds fades.
- The undervalued reading reflects positioning, not a forecast, managers see room to add.
- A price dip plus bullish sentiment is exactly the setup contrarians watch.
Why is gold a hedge during a bond sell-off?
Gold acts as a hedge during a bond sell-off because it has no coupon, no credit risk, and no issuer that can inflate away its value. When investors dump long-dated Treasuries and yields spike, the usual stock-bond diversification breaks down, and gold often holds or rises while both fall.
The problem with the classic 60/40 portfolio
The classic 60/40 portfolio assumes bonds zig when stocks zag. That relationship weakened badly in 2022, when the US aggregate bond index fell double digits alongside equities. A parallel decline in both leaves diversified investors with nowhere to hide.
Gold has historically shown low correlation to both stocks and bonds over long stretches. That low correlation, not any promise of high returns, is the reason many investors hold it. We covered a related scenario in our breakdown of when rising oil and yields hit stocks and bonds together.
What gold does and does not do
Gold protects against specific risks and ignores others, which is worth understanding before holding it.
- Does help: currency debasement, real-yield shocks, geopolitical stress, loss of faith in government debt.
- Does not help: generating income, compounding dividends, or beating equities over decades.
- Behaves oddly: gold can fall in a liquidity crunch when investors sell everything for cash.
How much gold do retail investors typically hold?
Most portfolio strategists describe a gold allocation of 5% to 10% for retail investors using it as a hedge rather than a core bet. That range is large enough to move the needle in a crisis but small enough that gold's zero yield does not drag heavily on long-term returns.
Position sizing is personal, and a few anchors describe how the ranges are often characterized:
- Under 5%: a token allocation that barely dampens portfolio swings.
- 5% to 10%: the standard hedge band many balanced portfolios use.
- Over 15%: a directional bet on gold rather than a diversifier.
However the weighting is chosen, its percentage can be tracked over time. A holding sized at 7% quietly drifts to 12% after a rally, which changes a portfolio's risk profile. Rebalancing back toward a target weighting is the discipline that many investors say makes a hedge work.
What are the ways to buy gold as a retail investor?
Retail investors can get gold exposure through physical bullion, gold ETFs, gold mining stocks, or futures, and for many people a low-cost ETF is the simplest choice. Each route trades convenience against cost and counterparty risk.
| Method | Best for | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|
| Gold ETFs (e.g. GLD, IAU) | Easy exposure, tight spreads | Annual expense ratio, no coin in hand |
| Physical bullion | Direct ownership | Storage, insurance, wide dealer spreads |
| Miner stocks (e.g. NEM) | Leverage to gold price | Company and operational risk added |
| Gold futures | Capital efficiency | Leverage and rollover complexity |
Why gold ETFs suit many portfolios
Gold ETFs suit many portfolios because they trade like a stock, settle in the same account as equities, and carry expense ratios as low as 0.15% to 0.40% per year. An investor buys IAU or GLD the same way as AAPL, and it appears in the same brokerage statement.
That single-account simplicity is why many hedge-seekers favor ETFs over coins. If you want the deeper mechanics of building the position, our guide on tracking a gold allocation that actually works walks through it step by step.
How do you track gold ETFs alongside your stocks?
You track gold ETFs alongside stocks by holding everything in one view so you can see your gold weighting as a live percentage of the total portfolio, not a number you recalculate by hand. That single lens is where a dedicated tracker beats a broker app.
Why broker apps fall short
Broker apps show gold ETFs as just another line item, with no way to see your combined hedge across accounts. If you hold IAU at one broker and gold miners at another, neither app knows about the other. Investors who split holdings across platforms hit this constantly, a problem we detail in our piece on portfolio tracker versus spreadsheet.
What PortfolioTrackr shows you
PortfolioTrackr aggregates gold ETFs, individual equities, crypto, and UAE-listed names into one allocation view across every account you add. You see your true gold weighting instantly and watch it drift.
- Consolidated allocation: gold as a live percentage of your entire net worth.
- Multi-account rollup: holdings from several brokers combined into one picture.
- Currency conversion: values shown in your choice of 67 currencies, useful for AED-based investors holding US ETFs.
- Flexible entry: add positions by manual entry, voice, text, CSV, or broker screenshot, no broker connection required.
Connecting a broker is entirely optional. If you do want automatic syncing, PortfolioTrackr bridges 35 brokers through SnapTrade plus three direct integrations with Alpaca, Bybit, and Interactive Brokers. If you prefer, our walkthrough on connecting a brokerage account covers the setup.
How do you set gold price alerts that actually help?
You set gold price alerts by defining the exact levels that matter to your plan, then letting the tracker watch the price continuously and notify you within a minute of a level being reached. A price alert is a notification tied to a level you choose yourself, rather than to round numbers.
Levels worth watching
Alert levels that investors find useful tend to map to their own hedging plan rather than to headlines. Many use a mix of targets and risk lines.
- Entry zone: a level some investors watch after a pullback.
- Rebalance trigger: a price at which a gold weighting has exceeded the level an investor was aiming for.
- Downside line: a level at which the hedge thesis weakens and an investor may reassess.
How alerts work in PortfolioTrackr
PortfolioTrackr monitors your chosen gold ETF prices continuously through market hours and fires the alert as soon as your level is reached. It reports status against your own levels, such as still below target or Target 1 reached, and it does not give buy or sell advice. You decide what to do with the information.
That status-only approach keeps you in control. If you also use stop levels on your equity positions, our comparison of trailing stops versus bracket orders is a useful companion read.
How does gold fit with the rest of your risk management?
Gold is one hedge among several, and it works best when you understand your other exposures first, especially hidden concentration. Many investors own far more of a single stock than they realize once fund overlaps are counted.
A useful first step is mapping what is already held:
- Single-stock concentration: the same mega-cap can appear in your ETFs, funds, and direct holdings at once.
- Sector clustering: tech-heavy portfolios carry different risks than gold addresses.
- Currency exposure: a US-dollar-denominated portfolio behaves differently than an AED base.
Our analysis of how much Apple you really own across your funds shows how easy it is to underestimate concentration. Gold hedges the whole portfolio, so knowing the portfolio comes first.
The bottom line
BofA's August survey putting gold in the undervalued camp during a bond sell-off is a reminder that the classic stock-bond hedge can fail, and gold offers a low-correlation alternative. For many retail investors, a 5% to 10% allocation through a low-cost gold ETF is a common way this kind of protection is described.
The discipline is in the tracking. PortfolioTrackr lets you watch your gold weighting as a live percentage next to your equities and crypto, set price alerts that fire the moment your level is reached, and see when a rally has quietly turned a hedge into a larger bet. The tool tracks the position and the levels you define, and lets the numbers keep you honest.
Find out what you are actually exposed to
Sector and currency concentration across every account you hold, benchmarked against the S&P 500, NASDAQ and gold.
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Frequently asked questions
What percentage of my portfolio should be in gold?
Most strategists suggest 5% to 10% in gold when using it as a hedge rather than a directional bet. That range is large enough to cushion a crisis but small enough that gold's zero yield does not drag long-term returns. Rebalance back to target after big price moves.
Is a gold ETF better than buying physical gold?
For most retail investors a gold ETF is simpler than physical bullion because it trades like a stock, settles in your brokerage account, and carries expense ratios around 0.15% to 0.40% per year. Physical gold offers direct ownership but adds storage, insurance, and wide dealer spreads.
Does gold really protect against a bond sell-off?
Gold often holds or rises during a bond sell-off because it has no coupon, no credit risk, and no issuer. When stocks and bonds fall together and the 60/40 hedge breaks down, gold's low correlation to both can steady a portfolio, though it can dip in liquidity crunches.
How can I track gold ETFs and stocks in one place?
PortfolioTrackr aggregates gold ETFs, equities, crypto, and UAE-listed shares into one allocation view across every account you add, showing your gold weighting as a live percentage. You can add positions by manual entry, voice, text, CSV, or broker screenshot, with broker connection optional.
Can I set a price alert for gold that notifies me instantly?
Yes. PortfolioTrackr monitors your chosen gold ETF prices continuously through market hours and fires the alert as soon as your level is reached. It reports status against your own levels, such as Target 1 reached, without giving buy or sell advice, so you stay in control.