Does Gold Glitter in the Long-Run? Gold as a Hedge and Safe Haven Across Time and Investment Horizon

During times of market turmoil, investors often seek to mitigate the risk associated with traditional investment assets such as equities and debt. The hedging, safe-haven and downside risk reduction properties of gold are examined in this paper for investors with short- and long-run horizons. Utilizing wavelet analysis, we find that gold acts as a short-run hedge for a variety of international equity and debt markets. The safe haven properties of gold during financial crises are further established, with gold shown to act as a safe haven for equity and debt investors across all horizons. Finally, gold is shown to reduce portfolio downside risk in the short-term but may actually contribute to increased long horizon downside risk during recessionary periods.