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Michael Barry’s moves are making headlines. The hedge fund manager famously bet against the US housing market in 2008 and won big – a move featured in the hit movie big short.
And back in early 2024, his investments are making headlines again.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bury Inc. Scan Asset Management made very few adjustments to its portfolio in Q1 2024 (1).
Among Bury’s notable moves were selling his stake in Amazon and Alphabet and increasing his holdings in Chinese companies JD.com and Alibaba.
Bury also made a sizable bet on gold by buying 440,729 shares of Sprout Physical Gold Trust, valued at $7.6 million in Q1 2024, making it the fifth largest position in his portfolio.
But did he sell too soon? Scion sold all of its holdings in Sprout just one quarter later, making a fairly modest profit of nearly $1 million in shares, which were worth an average of $18.14 each at the time of the sale (2).
However, if he had held his position in Sprout until 2025, when the share price reached $42.07 (3), Scion could have made $18.5 million from the sale.
This shows that even skilled investors cannot always time the market. But bearish buying in the yellow metal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to sell gold.
Here’s why gold can still be a buy-and-hold option for your portfolio, and how to invest in this asset wisely.
Gold has traveled a lot over the past 12 months.
A record 2025 teardown of the metal rose to $5,608.35 an ounce in late January 2026, before falling to $4,660 in early February (4).
While this dip may be a bit of a concern, Bury attributed it to the massive loss in crypto prices at the same time.
“Up to $1 billion in precious metals appears to have been lost as a result of the fall in crypto prices at the end of the month,” he wrote in a substack post, suggesting that investors are trying to de-risk their portfolios by selling gold and silver (5).
He may be right. The fact that gold prices are already rising may point to big gains by the end of 2026 – if you want to continue.
Sometimes it’s better to hold on longer, as former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett famously advises: “Our preferred holding period is forever. We’re just the opposite of those who rush to sell and book profits when companies are doing well (6).
The good thing is that there are many options for potential gold investors to choose from.
In fact, the process can be quite difficult.
That’s why having an expert on your side to help you sift through hundreds or thousands of options can be a game changer. But hiring an advisor can be a lifelong commitment, which may make or break your retirement.
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Read more: I’m almost 50 and have no retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up?
Read more: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1B private real estate fund starting at just $10
During previous periods of economic turmoil, gold has outperformed other assets. Those looking to add some defensive exposure to their portfolio should consider this alternative asset class.
Of course, there are many ways that investors can get exposure to gold. Buying physical gold coins or bars and storing them in a safe is the most straightforward option. However, this strategy comes with storage and insurance costs, as well as the risk of theft or loss of your physical assets.
Then, there are investments in gold mining stocks or companies that refine and/or use the precious metal in one way or another. These companies can greatly benefit from rising gold, but can also have downside risk.
Risk is simply the name of the game for companies that have their earnings denominated in gold and their debt and operating expenses denominated in dollars.
Finally, there are a range of gold ETFs and retirement accounts that may be better for many investors. They are generally more liquid in nature, can be bought and sold at any time without the premiums and discounts usually associated with buying physical gold, and do not require storage.
Some ETFs even track the price of gold futures, while others hold physical gold, so it’s important to read the fine print before choosing a particular fund to invest in (or pick a few for diversification, if that’s your game).
While you may not be trading with billions, stock market investing can go a long way toward building wealth.
If you want to build your portfolio but still want access to real-time insights offered by experts, you can take advantage of the services offered by Mobi.
Mobi provides expert research and recommendations to help you identify solid, long-term investments backed by the advice of veteran hedge fund analysts.
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Mobi’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to bring you stock and crypto reports delivered directly to you. Their research keeps you up to date on market changes and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs.
Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smart investor in just five minutes.
However, great advice is nothing without a great investment platform to work from.
If you want a simple, straightforward DIY investment tool that gives you access to level-level data and trading capabilities, SoFi’s easy-to-use DIY investment platform lets you buy stocks, ETFs and more with no commission fees and no account minimums.
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Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are a popular way to save for retirement, offering tax advantages that can grow your savings over time.
On the one hand, traditional IRAs allow you to contribute pre-tax income, tax-deferring until you withdraw the funds in retirement. Roth IRAs, on the other hand, involve contributions made with after-tax dollars, providing tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement.
In contrast, a gold individual retirement account (IRA) is a special type of IRA that allows investors to include physical gold and other precious metals in their retirement savings.
This type of IRA offers the same tax advantages as traditional and Roth IRAs, but it also provides the added benefit of diversifying your portfolio with significant assets.
There is also an additional benefit. Gold IRAs are attractive because gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, helping to protect your retirement savings from market volatility.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with Preferred Gold.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold and gold-related assets in a retirement account, which combines the tax benefits of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold — making it an attractive option for those potentially hedging their retirement funds against economic uncertainty.
For more information, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases.
If you believe in the long-term potential of the yellow metal, a gold IRA can be a valuable addition to your retirement strategy. However, many advisors warn that it should only be a small part of a diversified portfolio, between 5% and 10%.
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13F.info (1); Storage ring (2); CEF Connect (3); Business Economics (4); Coindesk (5); Berkshire Hathaway (6)
This article provides information only and should not be used as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
