Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
As gold continues topping fresh highs, Gautam Shah of Goldilocks Global Research predicts it has the momentum and fundamentals to hit $3,800 within the next year. The firm’s founder credits this optimistic forecast to deepening geopolitical tensions, systemic economic uncertainties, and skyrocketing demand for defensive instruments.
Outpacing the Stock Market
In the volatile first quarter of 2025, gold outpaced the S&P 500 by more than 23% in relative performance. While the popular stock index fell by over 4%, the yellow metal shone with a 19% return.
The split between gold’s rally and the stock market’s slump has carried over into Q2, showing no signs of letting up. These divergent trends reflect investor unease as people turn toward safe-haven assets. Simply put, “gold offers more upside potential in the current environment,” explains Shah.
Why Gold is Surging
Shah attributes gold’s powerful rise to a few key developments:
- Geopolitical Strife – Markets are constantly rattled by a shifting geopolitical landscape marred by two hot wars, a bubbling trade war, and a reshuffling global order. This tension creates a backdrop of uncertainty from which markets struggle to escape.
- Economic Volatility – At home, American investors face a troubling mixture of falling consumer confidence, lower growth forecasts, and heightened recession probability. Globally, a de-dollarization movement ushers in a multi-polar economic future.
- Safe-Haven Demand – Central banks have been leading a worldwide spike in safe-haven demand, with more than 1,000 tons of gold purchased for the past three years. Retail investors are following suit as gold exchange-traded fund inflows pick up.
Gold’s Bullish Set Up
The gold-positive combination of geopolitical tensions, economic turmoil, and safe-haven purchases shines brightly on the yellow metal’s future. Already, many experts have had to revise their 2025 gold price predictions as gold climbs to new peaks.
For its part, Goldilocks places a $3,700 to $3,800 target range within the next 12 to 15 months. If this prediction comes true, gold would rise by more than $1,000, marking a gain of nearly 45% from its price at the start of 2024.
Over the past three years, gold has boasted steady and strong upward momentum. Despite nearly doubling from a relative low in mid-2022. Shah believes the rally hasn’t reached its steepest stage. “We haven’t yet entered a parabolic phase in gold…prices.”
Greater Risk = Greater Allocation
Gold has a century-long track record of keeping pace with inflation, making the yellow metal one of the most popular safe-haven assets. Conventional investment wisdom encourages investors to hold precious metals regardless of the economic climate.
Shah takes this a step further by suggesting that portfolio diversification into gold should grow alongside market risks. “Given the uncertainties in global markets and the favorable buying conditions, I recommend increasing this to 10–15%.”
Buy the Dip (If Possible)
Despite holding a favorable outlook for gold, Shah admits prices are “looking slightly toppish,” meaning a correction could arise. If investor confidence grows and traditional assets such as the dollar and stocks strengthen, “gold…could take a back seat.” However, this transition would most likely be short-lived given systemic economic challenges.
In the event of a dip, Goldilocks advises investors to buy the dip and “go long” since gold is in a “mega trend.”
Do NOT short-term this product. Gold is a long-term hold. That’s what it does best.”–