Gold is a sterile asset that yields neither interest, dividends nor rentals and costs money to hold, but its price has surged to record levels, doubling since 2001.  Why? Who is buying it and what are their reasons?  How is its performance linked to the condition of the world economy and, especially the health of the US dollar?  And, most pressingly, how can you decide whether it represents a useful way of diversifying your portfolio, an asset you should include in your pension provisions – a good investment or an overvalued bandwagon?

Goldwatcher explains the pros and cons of gold as a twenty first century investment – when investing makes sense, when prices make sense and when they don’t.  The book addresses everything the independent investor needs to know about investing in gold.  It  addresses gold’s history as a repository of value; what drives supply and demand, why and how the US dollar and global macroeconomic factors affect gold price, how experts in the filed of money management see its prospects and when prices are reasonable.  Situations are explained in which gold will be invaluable to investors as stateless money that keeps its value even in the worst of times; a niche investment with value underpinned by scarcity; an investment to include in a portfolio to spread risks; and a suitable investment to include in pension provisions.

As unbiased analysts the authors are neither bulls or bears, rather they examine different scenarios that could play out in currency and financial markets, the effects they would have on investors, and what investors can do to protect themselves from adverse developments.