As central bankers prop up bond and stock markets with near-zero interest rates and bond purchases, gold is being overlooked, according to Elliott Management’s Paul Singer.
“In a world where the value of paper money is affirmatively aimed at being degraded by central bank policy, it’s kind of surprising to me that gold can’t catch a bid,” the billionaire and member of Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential said at a conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. “I like gold. I believe its under-owned. It should be a part of every investment portfolio, maybe five to ten percent.”
Singer took aim at monetary policy makers for a staggered economic recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, and what he called the "cult of central banking" in which investors turn to regulators such as Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi to solve the ills of the global financial system. And while those policies have "levitated" bond and equities, Singer is surprised by how little the investors he meets with own gold.
The commodity has been trading near the 5-year low it reached in August and rose 0.6 percent after Singer’s comments to 1,175.56 as of 1:52 p.m. in London.