Risk disclosure

The short version

• The price of gold can fall as well as rise, and you could get back less than you put in.
• Past results, including every comparison and chart on this site, are not a guide to future returns.
• Nothing on The Gold Metrics is financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
• Paper trading uses virtual money. Results there do not predict what would happen with real money.
• Today thegoldmetrics Inc. does not accept deposits or hold money or gold for anyone.

Gold prices move

Gold is priced in US dollars on global markets and trades almost around the clock. Its price responds to interest rates, the strength of the US dollar, buying and selling by central banks, expectations about inflation, demand for jewellery and industry, mining supply, and fear or calm in other markets. Any of these can change quickly.

Gold has had long stretches of falling or flat prices. After its 1980 peak it took about 28 years to get back to the same US dollar price. After its 2011 peak it fell by more than 40% over the following four years.

Your currency adds a second risk

The Gold Metrics shows prices in your own currency, but gold itself is priced in US dollars. The value you see depends on both the gold price and the exchange rate. A weaker local currency can lift the local gold price even when gold is flat in dollars, and a stronger one can push it down.

The exchange rates we use come from public reference sources. They may differ from the rate a bank, exchange or dealer would give you.

Gold is not a guaranteed hedge

Gold is often described as protection against inflation or a falling currency. Over very long periods it has often held its buying power, but over periods of several years it can fail to keep up with inflation, and it can fall at the same time as other assets.

Gold pays no interest or dividends. Money held in gold is money not earning income elsewhere.

Buying and selling prices are different

Real gold always costs more to buy than the spot price, and pays less when sold. The gap covers dealer margins, making the bars and coins, storage, insurance and payment costs.

This means a purchase is worth less than you paid the moment you make it, and the price has to rise by the full gap before you break even.

Coins and small bars can carry premiums well above spot, and dealers often buy them back at a discount.

Physical gold has risks of its own

• Theft and loss, and the cost of storing and insuring it.
• Counterfeit, plated or underweight items.
• Difficulty selling quickly at a fair price, especially away from large cities.

The Holdings tracker values what you tell it at the spot price. It does not check that your items are genuine, and a dealer is likely to pay less than the value shown. Our free course Buying gold safely explains how to protect yourself.

Market hours and price gaps

Gold trades from Sunday evening to Friday evening, New York time, with a short break each day. Outside those hours and on market holidays the price we show is the last traded price. When trading restarts, the price can open noticeably higher or lower, and in fast markets it can jump past levels you might have expected to trade at.

Short selling, leverage and CFDs

The paper trading simulator lets you practise short positions, which it labels CFD. In the simulator a short position sets aside its full value and no leverage is used.

In real markets, short selling and contracts for difference (CFDs) are complex and high risk. A loss on a short position has no upper limit, and leverage multiplies losses as well as gains, so you can lose more than you put in. Most people who trade CFDs with their own money lose it. Do not use these products unless you fully understand how they work and can afford the losses.

Practice is not the real thing

Paper trading uses virtual money, and no real orders are placed. Prices come from third-party market data and may be delayed. Real trades can fill at worse prices than the ones shown, and people often make different decisions when their own money is at stake. Good practice results do not mean real results will be good.

Comparisons and past performance

Gold vs everything compares gold with savings, the US dollar, US shares and Bitcoin using historical data. The results depend heavily on the dates you choose. They use typical costs and published inflation and deposit rates, which may differ from your own, and they leave out tax.

Bitcoin and other digital assets are extremely volatile and have lost most of their value more than once. Showing them is for comparison only, not a suggestion to buy them.

Information, data and AI

Prices, charts and news come from third-party sources and can be delayed, incomplete or wrong. The Gold Consultant uses artificial intelligence: it can make mistakes, rely on out-of-date news, and sound confident when it is wrong. It does not know your personal circumstances. Check anything important independently before acting on it.

Technology and service risks

Like any online service, The Gold Metrics can suffer outages, errors or attacks, and we may change or withdraw features. Keep your Google account secure, because it is how you sign in.

Scams and impersonation

Gold attracts fraud. We will never:

• ask for your password or a one-time code;
• message you first offering returns or an opportunity;
• ask you to send money to a personal bank account or a crypto wallet; or
• promise guaranteed or fixed returns.

Our emails come only from addresses ending in @thegoldmetrics.com, and our only social accounts are @thegoldmetrics on X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn. If something feels wrong, stop and email support@thegoldmetrics.com.

Tax

Gold is taxed differently from country to country, for example sales tax on bars and coins, or tax on gains when you sell. We do not give tax advice. Ask a qualified tax adviser where you live.

Getting advice

If you are unsure whether gold suits you, speak to a licensed financial adviser. As a general rule, only put into gold money you can leave alone for years and could afford to see fall in value, and keep an emergency fund in cash first.

Questions

Questions about this page? Email support@thegoldmetrics.com.