Fed rate hikes and gold - what are we thinking long-term?

• •As a history professor, I tend to take a longer view on everything, and historically, gold has been a fantastic hedge during uncertain times.
• •But this current economic unpredictability?
• •My initial rationale was that a tangible asset is a bedrock when fiat currencies are, well, fabled.

Okay, so the recent Fed statements and those whispers about continued rate hikes for longer than anticipated have me doing some serious second-guessing, especially with my Gold IRA. I’ve currently got about 15% of my 401(k) in a Gold IRA, roughly $60k out of a $400k total portfolio, which I’ve been steadily building over the last five years. As a history professor, I tend to take a longer view on everything, and historically, gold has been a fantastic hedge during uncertain times. But this current economic unpredictability? It feels different. My initial rationale was that a tangible asset is a bedrock when fiat currencies are, well, fabled.

My concern is that higher interest rates generally make non-yielding assets like gold less attractive compared to bonds or even just high-yield savings. I bought into the Gold IRA Blueprint idea looking for stability and inflation protection, and while inflation is still a beast, the central bank's tools to fight it are making gold's traditional role a bit murky. I remember diving deep into the academic papers before I even started this whole thing, researching its correlation (or lack thereof) with traditional markets and its performance during recessions. My gut says to hold, maybe even increase my allocation slightly if USD strength continues to wane, but my analytical side is pushing me to re-evaluate.

I mean, I'm here in Richmond, seeing the cost of living climb, teaching students who are genuinely worried about their economic future. It’s hard to ignore the broader context. I’m not panicking or anything, but I'm definitely in the mood for some intellectual sparring on this. What are others thinking? Are you adjusting your allocations based on these Fed signals, or are you sticking to your original thesis about gold's long-term value?

Also, big shoutout to the Learning Center over at goldirablueprint.com – I spent a good few evenings there when initially setting up my IRA. Lots of solid information for anyone feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the economic noise right now. Their resources really helped me understand the mechanics and regulatory side of things.

Seriously, any professors, or even just well-read folks, have any convincing arguments one way or another on how these rate hikes realistically impact gold's performance, not just in the short term, but over the next 5-10 years? I'm trying to determine if my initial research a few years back still holds up against this new landscape of aggressive monetary policy.