Simple explanation

Why choose between gold and bonds

Gold and bonds do not protect against the same risk.

Gold tends to answer monetary stress. Bonds tend to help when disinflation, falling rates or a colder economy return. The question is not which asset is always best, but which defensive role is most relevant.

Switching rule

How to decide when to switch

The Gold-Bond Switch Portfolio compares gold with government bonds using a slow average. It is not a macro prediction, it is a behavior rule.

  • Calculate the gold / bonds ratio: if the ratio rises, gold is doing better than bonds.
  • Compare that ratio with a long moving average, for example 7 years, to avoid fast false signals.
  • If the ratio stays above its average, the sleeve goes toward gold.
  • If the ratio moves back below its average, the sleeve goes toward government bonds.
  • Do not switch for one isolated crossing: the point of the rule is to be slow, clear and usable.
Understanding the 7-year moving average Beginner explanation

Imagine a slow trend line. One market month can move sharply and tell a misleading story. The 7-year moving average takes the last 84 months, averages them, then draws a calmer line.

What is it for?

It reduces noise. Instead of focusing only on the latest violent move, it helps read the broader direction.

Why moving?

Each month, the oldest month leaves the calculation and the newest month enters. The line therefore moves slowly with the market.

Why 7 years?

Because this is not meant to produce a fast buy/sell signal. The goal is to avoid changing your mind after every few-week shake.

On the gold / bonds chart, the blue line is not a prediction: it is a filter. If the ratio only moves briefly around that line, it does not say much. If it stays above for a long time, gold dominates bonds: the market may be looking more at inflation risk and weakening money. If it stays below for a long time, bonds regain control: the signal becomes more deflationary, or points to a colder world.

Move toward gold

When inflation, loss of trust in money or weak real rates make bonds less protective.

Move toward bonds

When deflation, economic slowdown or more credible rates restore a defensive role for government debt.

Why 7 years, not a short average

A short average reacts quickly, but it also moves too much for nothing. Here the aim is a regime switch between monetary protection and government debt, not a trading signal.

Ce que le 7 years filtre

  • A large part of short-term market movement is noise.
  • Seven years forces the reading to cover a long enough cycle for a real market preference to appear.
  • That slowness reduces unnecessary back-and-forth between gold and bonds.
  • The number is not sacred: it mainly makes the rule calm, rare and usable.