Long-Term Safe Hold: Reddit Debates S&P500 vs Gold, Research Highlights Temporal Performance Differences

A Reddit user sought hands-off, multi-year investments to hedge inflation and avoid major dips amid global tensions, comparing the S&P500 and gold. Key comments included:

• Recommendations for U.S. equity ETFs (VTI, VOO) as set-and-forget options.
• Splits between gold and S&P500 ETFs to balance safe haven and growth.
• Diversified global options like VT (total world stock) to mitigate U.S.-specific risks.
• Endorsements of BRK.B (cash-rich, resilient in downturns) and consumer staples (KO, PEP, WMT).
• Warnings against single-asset gold (near recent peaks) as risky.

• 2025 Performance
  : Gold delivered +55.2% returns (best-performing major asset) vs. S&P500’s +14.7%, driven by geopolitical tensions (Russia-Ukraine, Middle East) and central bank purchases (710 tonnes Q3 2025) [1,4].
• 10-Year (2015-2025)
  : S&P500 outperformed gold with 15.15% annualized nominal returns (279% total) vs. gold’s12.68% (141% total). Inflation-adjusted gains favored the S&P500 (cumulative inflation:36.7%) [6,8,9].

• Agreement
  : Both assets have distinct roles—gold for short-term geopolitical safe haven, S&P500/global equities for long-term inflation hedging and growth.
• Contradiction
  : Reddit comments split on gold; research clarifies performance is temporal (stronger recent vs weaker decade-long).
• Implications
  : A diversified portfolio (e.g., VT + GLD) aligns with the user’s hands-off preference, balancing global equity growth and geopolitical risk mitigation [5,7].

• Risks
  : Gold’s recent peak may lead to corrections if tensions ease; S&P500 exposed to U.S.-specific risks (mitigated by VT).
• Opportunities
  : Diversified ETF mixes (equity + gold) offer resilience across time horizons, fitting the user’s multi-year goal.