Gold investors are experiencing a strong bull run, vindicating their strong belief in the yellow metal.
The performance of gold over the last ten years has been staggering, and long-term investors in gold have made a good profit.
But, wait. Gold has never been a popular investment option for most retail investors. A chunk of one’s portfolio constitutes equity and fixed income investments. In fact, it’s mostly recommended that investors take an exposure of a maximum of 5-10% of the portfolio in gold.
Gold Prices Over Longer Horizons
There’s a reason behind it. Gold prices often experience a prolonged period of stagnancy. Prices hardly move for years together.
But then, investment in gold was never about short durations. As of July 10, 2025 gold return over the last 10 years is 12.16% CAGR. In absolute terms, gold is up over 200% in the last 10 years.
This stunning long-term performance of gold is not just over the last decade. For someone who invested in July 2005, the ten-year return as of July 2015 has been over 16% CAGR.
Yes, it is true that gold prices tend to remain stuck in a narrow range over extended periods. But when the price moves, the rise is sharp and ends up significantly rewarding those who remained patient.
The approximate gold price in July of 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025 has been $200, $377, $1,200, $1,057, $1,777 and $3,330, respectively.
That means, the CAGR return of gold over the last 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 years has been 11.91%, 11.51%, 7.04%, 12.16%, and 13.38% respectively.
When discussing stocks, don’t we hear about a conservative assumption for a yearly growth rate of 12% CAGR?
Now, look at gold’s performance- very close to that 12% in most scenarios.
It shows that gold has consistently shown a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) across various timeframes despite varying economic cycles. There’s an exception: The worst period for gold was between 2011 and 2020, when gold returns were negative.
Gold’s Recent Performance
Gold in the international market is around $ 3,340 today. While it took nearly 12 years for gold to move from $1,000 to $2,000 between October 2009 and January 2024, it took only 14 months for it to move another $1,000 to cross the $3,000 mark.
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