Confessions of a Money Manager: Gold isn't a Glittering Investment

Have you heard those clever spiels on the radio coaxing us to buy gold in lieu of common stocks that can go to zero? Are they true? Yes, in a way. But sometimes the truth is mixed with a bit of chicanery. Those gold ads remind me of a funny golf story. Ben Hogan is about to play an approach shot to a green fronted by a yawning pond. He asks his caddy what club he should use. "I caddied for Sam Snead yesterday, and he hit an eight iron," quipped the caddy. So Ben takes out his eight iron and smacks the ball right toward the pin as if it had eyes. But instead of coming down near the hole, it falls short and plops into the water. Ben turns, glares at his caddy and barks, "Are you sure Snead hit an eight iron?" "Yup," quipped the caddy. "And he hit it in the water, too!" Sometimes caddies, and as we'll soon discover, advertisers,... [read full story]