‘Gold isn’t a hedge anymore’: CFA says $4,000 surge is a warning, not a win

Gold has surged past $4,000—up nearly 60% this year alone—and CFA Himanshu Pandya says this isn’t a bull run driven by greed. It’s a signal of something deeper: fear, distrust, and a system under stress.

In a sharp LinkedIn post, Pandya called the gold rally “unimaginable just months back,” comparing its scale to the 1970s oil shock. But unlike past cycles, he argues, the usual drivers—rate cuts, inflation hedging, value seeking—don’t explain this spike.

“Something is not normal,” he wrote. “This is not a rally driven by greed. It seems to be driven by fear.”

According to Pandya, the real story lies with the buyers: central banks, sovereign funds, and institutional investors accumulating gold—not for returns, but for protection. “When governments buy gold at record highs, they’re not chasing profits. They’re buying insurance,” he said.

In his view, gold has evolved from a store of value to a statement of systemic distrust—in fiat currencies, in the U.S. dollar, and in global credit markets that are starting to wobble under debt pressure and policy fatigue.

“Gold is no longer just a hedge against inflation,” Pandya wrote. “It is a question at the established system. In God we do not trust.”

Investors, governments, and institutions aren’t just hedging portfolios, says Pandya. They’re preparing for something bigger.