Chasing price and panic selling

Gold's role in a portfolio is measured in years and decades, not weeks. Investors who try to time it usually buy tops and sell bottoms.

The behavioral trap

Gold gets media attention at extremes — after big rallies or crashes. That is exactly when the reward for acting on emotion is worst.

The alternative

Dollar-cost averaging, a target allocation, and periodic rebalancing turn gold from a trading position into a portfolio anchor.