A Painful Reminder: Gold Isn't Bulletproof

All too often, I hear an investing conversation that goes something like this:

Person A: "I think I want to get into the stock market."

Person B: "No way. You should buy gold!"

Person A: "Why not stocks?"

Person B: "Gold is a bulletproof investment! It'll help you hedge against inflation, and when our government collapses and the dollar becomes worthless, gold can only go up in value ... right?"

Person A: "Hmm ... maybe you're right."

The painful reminder
Putting the "worthless dollar/government collapse" argument aside (sigh), what's the problem with gold? Despite its long-held status of being hailed as a superior safe-haven investment, people often forget gold can be just as prone to crashes as any other asset class in the market.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Curiously enough, fellow Fool Matt Koppenheffer faced a deluge of negative comments after he bluntly stated that gold looked like a bubble just waiting to pop all the way back in September 2011.

To be sure, take a look at how prominent miners such as Barrick Gold and Yamana Gold have performed relative to the S&P 500 since then:

AUY Total Return Price data by YCharts.

OK, so the miners didn't fare so well over the past year and a half, but what about the actual price of gold?

Well, check out the performance over the same period by the SPDR Gold Trust , which is an ETF designed to mimic the price of one tenth of an ounce of gold:

GLD Total Return Price data by YCharts

Ouch! That's 54% of raw underperformance by gold over a painfully long period of time.

Stocks: 1, Gold: 0
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to say gold is always a terrible investment completely unworthy of your money. To the contrary, gold can certainly find its place as just one of many parts of a well-diversified portfolio.

That said, like any other asset class, gold's extended streak of underperformance should serve as a somber reminder that we shouldn't be willing to blindly purchase any given investment at too high a price, no matter how strong the pre-existing bias of its perceived ability to weather downturns.

If you're searching for a hedge against inflation, then why not pick up shares of a dividend-paying stock like banking giant Wells Fargo , which currently trades at just 10.4 times trailing earnings and pays a 2.7% dividend? Think what you will about the banking sector as a whole, but when all things are considered, it's easy to see why Wells Fargo remains one of Warren Buffett's largest holdings.

Or maybe a global fast-food giant like Yum! Brands could satisfy your hunger for stability. Though you'll pay a higher premium for its shares at around 20 times last year's earnings, it also offers a sustainable 2% dividend and is quickly expanding operations around the world -- particularly in emerging markets like China, where it plans to nearly triple its number of locations to 14,000.

Foolish final thoughts
In the end, while gold could very well rebound from here, one can only hope the recent drop will go a long way toward dispelling the notions of everyone's favorite metal as a risk-free investment.

From now on, just be sure to remember stocks can glitter, too.

More expert advice from The Motley Fool
Wells Fargo's dedication to solid, conservative banking helped it vastly outperform its peers during the financial meltdown. Today, Wells is the same great bank as ever, but with its stock trading at a premium to the rest of the industry, is there still room to buy, or is it time to cash in your gains? To help figure out whether Wells Fargo is a buy today, I invite you to download our premium research report from one of The Motley Fool's top banking analysts. Click here now for instant access to this in-depth take on Wells Fargo.

The article A Painful Reminder: Gold Isn't Bulletproof originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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