5 years in - my Gold IRA journey and a look at the returns so far (it's been interesting!)

• •Okay, so I started my Gold IRA about five years ago, back when everyone was still saying gold was dead money.
• •I run a construction company here in Chicago, and call me old-fashioned, but I just fundamentally believe in tangible assets.
• •eh, it feels too abstract sometimes.

Okay, so I started my Gold IRA about five years ago, back when everyone was still saying gold was dead money. I run a construction company here in Chicago, and call me old-fashioned, but I just fundamentally believe in tangible assets. Paper money... eh, it feels too abstract sometimes. I had about $300k liquid at the time, and after talking to my advisor (who was pretty skeptical, bless his heart), I decided to roll over about $100k of an old 401k into a self-directed Gold IRA. It felt like a pretty big move then, putting that much into something that doesn't "produce" anything, but gut feeling just kept screaming at me.

My strategy wasn't anything fancy. I just wanted a hedge against inflation and market craziness. As a business owner, I see the volatility first-hand – material costs swinging wildly, labor shortages, interest rates going up and down like a yo-yo. Having a chunk of my retirement in something physical, something that's been considered valuable for literally thousands of years, just made sense to me. I wasn't looking for moonshot returns, more like a bedrock. And honestly, for a good while, it felt like it was dead money. The market kept trucking along, and my gold felt a bit like it was just sitting there, not doing much.

But then things started to shift. The pandemic hit, inflation got wild, and suddenly everyone was talking about safe havens. It was pretty vindicating to see the value start climbing. When I checked last month, that initial $100k is now sitting comfortably in the $160-$170k range. That's a solid 60-70% return over five years, which, for a "safe" asset, I'm pretty damn happy with. Especially when you consider how much uncertainty there's been. It's not the S&P 500, no, but it also smoothed out some of those market rollercoasters I was seeing in my other accounts.

It's made me seriously consider increasing my allocation. I'm thinking about another $50k from a different retirement account. Is anyone else out there finding similar success with their Gold IRAs over the mid-term? Or am I just getting lucky with the current economic climate? What are your thoughts on increasing exposure now that gold's had such a good run? Part of me thinks it's still got legs with all the global instability, but another part wonders if I missed the boat on the biggest gains already. Would love to hear some other perspectives, especially from folks who've been in it longer.