I love people who Schiff on Gold as part of a balanced investment strategy. If you bought Gold in 1980 and sold in 2000 you’d feel like an idiot. If you bought gold in 2000 and held through the present you’d feel like a genius. https://twitter.com/longshorttrader/status/1254382365029224448

This is why diversification matters: Gold, Bonds, Equities all often have lost decades. You need more than just US large cap equities.

While there are far worse strategies than 100% long a total US market index fund, I hate to say it but it risks a heightened risk of a low or 0% real return in the coming decade.

$DGS for example, a emerging markets small cap etf, has a ~5% dividend right now. I would bet a meaningful percentage of my net worth that it outperforms US markets over the next decade. Starting valuations are important.

To close this thread. There are no guarantees in this life. A conservative investor just looking to build wealth over time should prioritize multiple sources of risk and return when constructing their asset allocation.