Brandon Sauerwein, Editor
In 2024, gold emerged as the top-performing investment asset, delivering a remarkable 27.5% return. The precious metal closed the year at $2,641.00, up significantly from $2,071.80 at the end of 2023.
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Silver also demonstrated strong performance, securing the third position with a 20.2% gain, rising from $24.09 to $28.94 over the same period.
Analysis from our partners at CPM Group compares gold and silver’s performance against nine major financial asset classes, including various equity and bond market segments, U.S. Treasury bills (cash equivalents), and real estate.
An important distinction to consider is that while gold and silver are individual assets, most other categories in our comparison are indices comprising hundreds or thousands of individual securities.
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This structural difference affects performance patterns: individual assets like precious metals typically display greater price volatility than broad-based indices. Consequently, gold and silver often appear at either end of the performance spectrum in year-over-year comparisons.
The strong performance of precious metals in 2024 aligns with the year’s heightened global economic and political uncertainty. As we enter 2025, these uncertainties have not only persisted but in some cases intensified, suggesting that gold and silver may continue their strong performance through the year.
- Sources: Bloomberg, CPM Group.
- Large Cap Equity – S&P 500
- Small Cap Equity – Russell 2000
- Developed ex-U.S. Equity – MSCI World ex USA,
- Emerging Market Equity – MSCI Emerging Markets
- U.S. Fixed Income – Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index,
- High Yield – Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond Index
- Global ex-U.S. Fixed Income – Bloomberg
- Barclays Global Aggregate ex US Bond Index,
- Real Estate – FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed
- REIT Weighted Net Total Return Index
- Cash Equivalent T-bill – 90 Day.
- Gold and Silver, Comex Nearby Active Contracts
- Annual Returns are percent changes year-end to year-end. T-Bills are year-end.
Market Update: Gold & Silver Performance
Gold is breaking all-time highs.
- Gold surged past $2,800 per ounce on Friday, with more gains possible as Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports happens today. The combination of upcoming tariffs and Fed Chair Powell’s cautious stance on rate cuts has amplified gold’s appeal.
- Meanwhile, silver has outpaced gold with an impressive 9.1% gain year-to-date. Silver’s smaller market size compared to gold often leads to higher volatility, potentially offering greater upside opportunities for investors.
Want to understand the broader context? Dive into our market analysis on the Hard Assets Alliance blog 2024 Year in Review to explore the factors driving gold and other precious metals.
Bullion Fact of the Week
Throughout human history, from ancient Egyptian tombs to modern mines, humanity has extracted just 187,200 tons of gold – a quantity that would fit surprisingly neatly into a cube measuring just 21.4 meters on each side.
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