Silver prices are actually down nearly 25% over the past five years while gold prices have been relatively flat. Silver has been hit harder, because investors are worried about slowing global economic growth. But both metals have undeperformed the broader stock market.
Still, investing experts say that gold, silver and other precious metals like platinum and palladium, could make sense as a small part of a broader investment portfolio.
Many people own them simply to hedge against big pullbacks in stocks. They are also viewed as a good alternative to government-backed currencies — which tend to fluctuate more with central bank decisions on interest rates.
Investors view bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as assets that could behave similarly to gold and silver.
Now that the US Federal Reserve is apparently done raising interest rates for the foreseeable future, that should bode well for gold and silver, when rates are low.
