The Wonderful Asymetry of Gold & Silver Investments

December 22, 2025 | The year 2025 will be remembered as the year when both gold and silver exploded on the upside as worries about the dollar and the fiscal posture of the United States drove investors to seek inflation hedges. Bitcoin, meanwhile, lost a lot of momentum and seems destined to end the year lower and weaken in 2026. But the key takeaway is the wonderful asymetry of precious metals given the weakness of the dollar.

"Looking ahead, the 2026 and 2027 outlook for the metal remains bullish," notes JPMorgan last week on gold prices. "Prices are expected to push toward $5,000/oz by the fourth quarter of 2026, with $6,000/oz a possibility longer term. Central bank and investor demand for gold is set to remain strong, averaging 585 tonnes a quarter in 2026."

Both gold and silver are asymmetrical trades, as we discussed in our interview with James Rickards (“Jim Rickards: False Narratives in AI & Crypto and the Case for Gold”).  Technical factors combine with worries about the fate of the dollar to push silver and gold prices sharply higher.  As Rickards said to us last year:

"Humans are incredibly adaptable when it comes to money. Witness crypto as a case in point. If you are the shepherd of the dollar, you cannot take the currency for granted. People will create new currencies when the old money fails. That is why the Treasury should begin to buy gold again to demonstrate that the dollar is real."

Silver in particular caught fire in Q4 due to a powerful mix of surging industrial demand (EVs, solar, AI), strong investor interest as a safe haven amid economic uncertainty, a tight physical supply (mining constraints), and the "cheapness" of silver relative to gold, creating a perfect storm for record-high prices. 

Silver has always been the common man’s metal, but the unique combination of industrial necessity and monetary appeal has helped to resolve its historical "identity crisis," making it both an industrial input and an investment asset. 

Below we talk about some of the leading names in our metals surveillance portfolio. The full list is available below to subscribers of the Premium Service of The Institutional Risk Analyst. And remember that our Winter Sale ends 12/31/2025! 

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