Purchasing power represents the amount of goods and services you can buy with a currency. The value of gold, in terms of the real goods and services it can buy, has remained largely stable for decades. Despite all challenges, it has retained its purchasing power. For the protection of wealth and a small security blanket, financial advisors often recommend putting 10-20% of a given portfolio into gold or other precious metals.

The value of gold, in terms of the real goods and services it can buy, has remained largely stable for decades, if not centuries. Recent research from the World Gold Council shows that gold has held its value over the long term when compared with other commodities. Its value arises from its use and worldwide acceptance as a store of value, Gold is money as it has maintained its purchasing power throughout history.

Diversification protects your portfolio from fluctuations in the value of a single asset, or a group of assets that usually move in a similar direction. For the typical investor�s portfolio, this combination of wealth and assets is typically comprised of stocks and bonds. Financial analysts agree, however, that diversification of investment portfolios is a smart move for almost every investor in protecting against detrimental market fluctuations that will inevitably occur.

Worldwide gold production is not matching consumption. The price will go up with demand. The gold price hit a record $1,920.30 an ounce in the third quarter of the year and demand reached 1,053.9 tonnes. European purchases of bars and coins more than doubled to 118.1 tons in the third quarter, accounting for 30 percent of total coin and bar demand and making it the single largest source of demand for bullion in this form.