Cortes also argues that gold as an inflation hedge has not been an attractive bet, wih the Consumer Price Index only inching up 1.2% over the past year.
“There is no serious inflationary pressure in this economy and that’s because wages are simply too restrained,” says Cortes. “You need growing wages to really get inflation going. That’s what we had way back in the 1970s. You have the opposite now. So, for that reason, I think avoid or even short gold.”
Other physically backed gold ETFs include:
- iShares Gold Trust (NYSEArca: IAU): down 23.5% year-to-date
- ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEArca: SGOL): down 23.6% year-to-date
- ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares (NYSEArca: AGOL): down 23.9% year-to-date
For more information on gold, visit our gold category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own GLD.