Five physical metals - gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium - each playing a distinct role across the macro cycle.
Each has its own demand driver - monetary, industrial, automotive-catalytic, jewelry. The cycle that lifts one isn't the cycle that lifts the next.
Each metal rebased to 0% on the first trading day of 2026. Source: LBMA daily fix (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd) and Johnson Matthey daily price (Rh).
Gold is globally respected for its value and its long history as a part of human cultures across thousands of years. People continue to value gold as insurance against currency failure and economic crises. It serves as a portfolio hedge against both inflation and deflation, offers protection during geopolitical uncertainty, and improves risk-adjusted returns because its price typically rises when stocks and bonds decline.
Unlike paper currency, gold maintains its worth across centuries. Its resistance to corrosion and workability made it the natural medium for coinage since ancient times.
Contrary to popular belief, the dollar's 1998 value matched 2021 levels while gold appreciated sevenfold over the same window. Gold can rise alongside a strengthening currency - what drives appreciation is sovereign debasement through expanded money supplies.
Gold preserves purchasing power over long periods. Between 1980 and 2002 gold actually declined for two decades despite high inflation, but functions as a crisis hedge - dramatically appreciating during macroeconomic disruptions when fiat currencies lose value.
During deflation, gold's purchasing power surges while other prices collapse. The Great Depression demonstrated this clearly: people hoarded cash and physical gold as the safest store.
Often called the crisis commodity, gold outperforms during periods of elevated global tensions and declining government confidence.
Central banks have shifted from net sellers (pre-2008) to net buyers since 2010. Mine production has declined since 2000, with new mines requiring 5-10 years to develop. Reduced supply typically lifts prices.
Emerging-market wealth expansion has lifted gold demand structurally - particularly across China and India, where gold ownership is culturally entrenched. Institutional recognition of commodities as a legitimate asset class has accelerated this further.
Gold has historically demonstrated negative correlation with stocks and property, making it valuable for risk reduction. A properly diversified investor combines gold with stocks and bonds to reduce overall portfolio volatility.
Silver carries dual roles: store of value and industrial input. While silver trades broadly in unison with gold as a hoardable commodity, the industrial supply-demand picture exerts an equally strong influence on its price - which is why silver volatility runs higher than gold's.
Silver's price fluctuates more dramatically than gold because it balances both monetary and industrial demand. Investors who can stomach the volatility have historically captured stronger upside during precious-metals bull cycles.
Modern devices - phones, cameras, computers, batteries, superconductors - all rely on silver's unique properties. Unlike gold, which is largely recycled, consumed silver is often destroyed permanently in industrial processes.
Historically, one ounce of gold purchased fifteen ounces of silver. Today that ratio sits north of 70:1. On long-run norms, silver is significantly undervalued relative to gold and to its own 1980 highs.
Silver's heavy use in photovoltaic solar technology positions it for structural demand growth. Global zero-carbon commitments and renewable build-outs will lift silver consumption substantially over the next decade.
Silver historically served monetary roles. As fiat purchasing power deteriorates, that monetary use case is returning, supplementing - not replacing - the industrial bid.
As gold prices escalate beyond reach for many retail investors, silver becomes the accessible entry point - particularly across Asian markets. Mass migration into tangible assets during currency stress can generate demand that has no precedent in prior cycles.
Large short positions exist in paper silver markets. Covering those during a price rise accelerates upward momentum. Investor focus on physical (rather than paper) silver could expose this shortage dramatically.
Platinum trades around-the-clock on global markets and often commands a higher per-ounce price than gold during stable periods, reflecting its scarcity. Unlike gold, platinum has not been mined for thousands of years - it was only discovered in 1735. Over 73% of global supply comes from a small handful of South African mines, operating under extremely challenging conditions.
Approximately 40% of platinum demand comes from automotive catalysts used to reduce harmful emissions. Jewellery, petroleum refining and computing applications consume the rest. That dual-purpose role means platinum prices track both vehicle production and clean-air legislation.
Heavy concentration in just two countries - South Africa and Russia - creates real supply risk and the potential for geopolitical pricing pressure.
Platinum serves as the exclusive precious-metal catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells alongside iridium. As hydrogen technology scales for transport and energy storage, platinum demand has a clear long-run upside path.
Portfolio-balance considerations drive platinum investment demand, particularly when gold rises and the platinum-to-gold ratio expands. Platinum is the most volatile of the major precious metals.
Lesser-known than gold, silver or platinum, palladium is the most industrial of the precious metals. Roughly 75% of global palladium demand comes from auto manufacturing - it is the key catalyst metal that speeds up emissions-reducing chemical reactions in catalytic converters. Primary supply originates from mines in the United States, Russia, South Africa and Canada.
Palladium's catalytic-converter role ties its price tightly to global vehicle production cycles. It is also used in solar cells and fuel cells where its hardness (12.6% harder than platinum) makes it more durable.
Roughly 80% of global palladium supply originates from Russia and South Africa. Supply disruptions - sanctions, power infrastructure failures, mine shutdowns - cause sharp price moves.
Rising palladium prices encourage automakers to explore alternative metals, particularly platinum. Substitution flows back and forth depending on relative pricing, creating tactical opportunities the Auctus algorithms are tuned to capture.
Palladium has been used in jewellery since 1939. Mixed with yellow gold, the alloy is stronger than white gold. The 1967 Tonga coronation coins were the first recorded palladium coinage.
Rhodium has historically received little precious-metals investment attention, yet it merits inclusion in any active portfolio because of its extreme scarcity. Only 28 tons of rhodium are mined annually, compared with 220 tons of platinum and over 2,300 tons of gold. Discovered in 1803 alongside palladium, rhodium belongs to the platinum group of noble metals.
Rhodium is used as a coating to improve corrosion resistance for palladium and platinum, and by jewellers to make silver, platinum and palladium pieces more scratch-resistant and lustrous. Its high reflectivity also makes it valuable in premium glass and LCD manufacturing.
Most rhodium is consumed by the auto industry in catalytic converters that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. South Africa's Bushveld complex supplies approximately 80% of global rhodium, all extracted as a byproduct of platinum mining.
Rhodium surged from around $600/oz in 2016 to record highs near $29,800/oz in early 2021. Strong Chinese auto demand combined with chronic underinvestment in new platinum-group mining capacity drove the move. The metal remains volatile - and an outsized return contributor when allocated tactically.
Find out how each metal fits into your managed portfolio.
