# How much of your wealth should depend solely on the financial system?<\/p>\n
What if it were the only question that truly mattered?<\/p>\n
Every week, hundreds of calls. Emails. Messages.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Sarah… do you think gold will keep rising?\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Could it fall suddenly?\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Is it still the right time?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The question never changes. Only the tone varies. When the market accelerates, the voice is enthusiastic. When it corrects, it turns anxious.<\/p>\n
So I always give the same answer.<\/p>\n
Gold is not a bet. It is a balance.<\/strong><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n I support our clients in the complete structuring of their wealth: taxation, estate planning, legal optimisation, but also rare objects such as paintings, fine jewellery from the great houses and exceptional coins. I bring to this work the eye of an auctioneer and the rigour of a wealth expert.<\/p>\n What I often say:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Gold is not an isolated asset. It belongs to a broader logic. When you look at wealth seriously, with its paintings, its jewellery, its cash and its investments, gold plays a role that nothing else can replace: it is universal, it is recognised, and it escapes the legal vagaries of most other asset classes.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n The real question I ask my clients is never \u00ab\u00a0how much gold?\u00a0\u00bb but rather: \u00ab\u00a0Alongside your financial assets, what do you hold that has intrinsic value? Value that is independent of any counterparty, of any system?\u00a0\u00bb An old master painting, a signed jewel, an exceptional coin: these assets have something in common with gold. They exist in their own right.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Ana\u00efs runs our gold and silver investments, our major accounts and our online shop. As a seasoned wealth manager, she guides her clients in the allocation of their financial wealth, and gold holds a place she defends with concrete market arguments.<\/p>\n She begins by recalling the immediate context:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Right now, markets are watching two major dates. The Fed will communicate on its rates on 28 and 29 April. The ECB, on 30 April. Two major central banks, twenty-four hours apart: that is exceptional. In this kind of waiting period, market participants look for liquidity. And that is precisely where gold plays its best understood role.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n She then recalls a counter-intuitive truth:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Gold can correct even in times of crisis. Because when markets tighten, investors first sell what is most liquid. And gold is the most liquid asset that exists. It can be resold anywhere, within hours, at any scale.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n That is precisely the proof. Gold falls first not because it fails, but because it is the only asset everyone accepts immediately. This is not a sign of weakness; it is the very definition of absolute liquidity.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, several large money market funds, reputed stable and accessible, have applied withdrawal caps, frozen gains, or refused liquidity requests from their clients. Not out of malice: to avoid a systemic domino effect. This kind of measure has already been observed in previous crises. In March 2020, US money market funds suffered massive outflows of more than 100 billion dollars in a matter of days, forcing the Fed to intervene urgently. In 2008, a major fund saw its net asset value fall below the one-dollar threshold, a first in history, which triggered widespread panic across the entire category.<\/p>\n Gold has no gate. No cap. No suspension clause. You exit when you decide.<\/p>\n Sam leads our national and international purchasing division and our compliance department, and he supervises the smelting laboratory. He sees gold from an angle few financial experts know: that of the material, the real metal, the global physical circuit.<\/p>\n He insists on a point many forget:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0When the dollar strengthens or rates stay high, gold temporarily pulls back; that is mechanical. But those factors are cyclical. What is not cyclical is the evolution of public balance sheets.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n Global debt now exceeds levels that few participants take the time to look in the face. Monetary policies remain constrained. Geopolitical balances are fragile.<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0What I observe in our purchasing activity is that physical demand is not weakening. Individuals, institutions, states: everyone is looking for real metal. And real metal exists in a finite quantity.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n He adds a point that Western markets often underestimate:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0We should be paying far more attention to Asian markets. In China, in India, in Southeast Asia, the culture of physical gold is deeply rooted. These are not markets of paper, of ETFs or of derivatives. It is metal: bought, held, passed on. These markets give a far more honest reading of real demand than any price quoted in London or New York.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Ten years ago, some thought gold was archaic.<\/p>\n According to the World Gold Council, central banks acquired 1,082 net tonnes of gold in 2022, an absolute record since 1967. The year 2023 confirmed the trend with 1,037 tonnes, the second highest level ever recorded. This momentum continued in 2024 and 2025: structural demand is not weakening.<\/p>\n These are not emotional investors. They are states. They do not buy to speculate over three months. They buy to consolidate their reserves, diversify their balance sheets and reduce their exposure to the dollar.<\/p>\n Today, gold is no longer merely a vault asset. It is becoming a balance-sheet asset again.<\/p>\n And this shift matters far more than the weekly variation in the price.<\/p>\n What I never claim is to know what the market will do tomorrow. I never say \u00ab\u00a0it is now or never.\u00a0\u00bb My role is to inform you, not to push you. Gold is neither magic nor infallible. It is independent. And in a fragmented world, that independence carries a particular value.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n That is what central banks have understood. That is what we explain every day. And that is what many discover only when volatility arrives.<\/p>\n Sarah, Managing Director<\/strong><\/p>\n *Updated on 27 September 2026.*<\/p>\n Because when markets tighten, investors first sell what is most liquid, and gold is the most liquid asset that exists: it can be resold anywhere, within hours, at any scale. Gold falling first is therefore not a sign of failure but the very definition of absolute liquidity. The same pattern was observed in March 2020, when US money market funds suffered outflows of more than 100 billion dollars in a few days and the Fed had to intervene urgently, while physical metal remained immediately tradable. Since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, several large money market funds have applied withdrawal caps or frozen gains, precisely the kind of friction that physical gold never imposes. Monitoring the gold price<\/a> during such episodes shows that corrections driven by liquidity needs have historically been temporary, while the structural reasons for holding metal remain intact.<\/p>\n Gold is not an isolated asset; it belongs to a broader logic that includes paintings, jewellery, cash and financial investments. Its specific role is unique: it is universal, recognised everywhere, and it escapes the legal vagaries of most other asset classes. Alongside financial assets, the relevant question is what you hold that has intrinsic value, independent of any counterparty and any system. An old master painting, a signed jewel or an exceptional coin shares this quality with gold: these assets exist in their own right. For savers who want a tangible anchor inside a wider allocation, certified gold bars<\/a> offer exactly that independence, combined with worldwide recognisability and liquidity that few alternative assets can match over long holding periods.<\/p>\n According to the World Gold Council, central banks acquired 1,082 net tonnes of gold in 2022, an absolute record since 1967, followed by 1,037 tonnes in 2023, the second highest level ever recorded, with momentum continuing through 2024 and 2025. These are not emotional investors but states. They buy to consolidate their reserves, diversify their balance sheets and reduce their exposure to the dollar, not to speculate over three months. This is why gold is no longer merely a vault asset: it is becoming a balance-sheet asset again. When sovereign institutions treat physical metal as a strategic reserve, it sends a structural signal that far outweighs weekly price movements, and it is precisely this signal that long-term private investors can observe and understand through our gold guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n In times of stress, the comparison is instructive. Several large money market funds, reputed stable and accessible, have applied withdrawal caps, frozen gains or refused liquidity requests since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, not out of malice but to avoid a systemic domino effect. In 2008, a major fund even saw its net asset value fall below the one-dollar threshold, a first in history that triggered panic across the entire category. Physical gold has no gate, no cap and no suspension clause: you exit when you decide, anywhere in the world, at any scale. For holders concerned about access and discretion, combining allocated metal with a safe deposit box rental<\/a> keeps the asset both protected and immediately available, without depending on the liquidity policy of any financial intermediary.<\/p>\n In China, India and Southeast Asia, the culture of physical gold is deeply rooted. These are not markets of paper, ETFs or derivatives, but of metal that is bought, held and passed on from one generation to the next. This gives a far more honest reading of real demand than any price quoted in London or New York, because it reflects what households and institutions actually want to own rather than what traders momentarily price. Western markets often underestimate this dimension, yet it explains why physical demand does not weaken even when a strong dollar or high rates push prices temporarily lower. Individuals, institutions and states are all looking for real metal, and real metal exists in a finite quantity. To discuss how this physical reality translates into a personal allocation, an appointment<\/a> at the agency allows a direct, unhurried conversation with our teams.<\/p>\nThe place of gold in a global wealth strategy<\/h2>\n
Understanding market movements: the role of gold in times of tension<\/h2>\n
Ana\u00efs’s analysis: liquidity and investor behaviour<\/h3>\n
Sam’s analysis: physical markets and the long-term view<\/h3>\n
A structural shift in the role of gold<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions about gold<\/h2>\n
How much of your wealth do you wish to leave dependent exclusively on the financial system?<\/h3>\n
Why does gold sometimes fall during a crisis?<\/h3>\n
What role does gold play in a diversified wealth strategy?<\/h3>\n
Why are central banks buying so much gold?<\/h3>\n
Is physical gold really more liquid than a bank or fund investment?<\/h3>\n
Why do Asian markets matter so much for gold demand?<\/h3>\n