What gold’s new playbook is telling equity investors

livemint.com:

“Governments lie; bankers lie; even auditors sometimes lie. Gold tells the truth." –William Rees Mogg At the end of the Mahabharata war, Yudhishthira, the leader of the Pandavas, is overwhelmed with guilt and grief over the massacre of his relatives. Looking to boost his flagging spirits, Lord Krishna and sage Vyasa advise him to perform the Ashvamedha Yagna—an extravagant and elaborate ceremony meant to demonstrate the suzerainty of Vedic kings.

However, Yudhishthira confides to Krishna that the state treasury is empty because of the war. Krishna then offers a suggestion which would gladden the heart of any multi-asset fund manager—‘fill your coffers with gold (left behind by a king in the Himalayas) and achieve your goals’. If there is one asset class which carries the weight of antiquity on its shoulders, whose desire is embedded in the very soul of human civilization, and which even today serves as a bulwark against the vicissitudes of fate, it is gold.

While stocks, bonds and other assets flutter in and out of fashion, the almighty gold’s track record as the flagbearer of wealth stretches for over 5,000 years. The ultimate barometer of human progress and prosperity. Which is why the most prominent investors and institutions around the world sit up and pay attention when the bullion market makes unusual moves.

After a relatively subdued start to the year, gold prices started gathering steam in early March. By April, the precious metal had breached the $2,300 per ounce mark for the first time ever, capping a series of record-shattering moves. As of 9 April, gold had made fresh lifetime highs for eight straight sessions.