Precious Metals Move Sideways as Crypto and AI Bubbles Deflate
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
June 8, 2026 | This week The Institutional Risk Analyst is travelling to Leen's Lodge Grand Lake Stream, ME, for a week of fishing and conversation with a small group of mortgage and financial professionals. We’ll be updating readers on our discussions at the end of the week in "The Wrap." And yes, we’ll be taping our weekly discussion with Julia LaRoche from Leen’s Lodge on the shores of West Grand Lake. The photo below was taken from the dining room deck of Leen's Lodge.
Photo: MJ Whalen
We have updated the WGA Precious Metals Top 25 for June 2026. Many of the gold and funds are down YTD, having given up the gains seen in 2026 in the face of triple digit returns for AI related stocks. As we noted last week in “The Wrap,” when AI stocks are soaring and interest rates are rising, precious metals typically retreat. It's all about short-term yields and chasing the shiny object.
Readers should recall our comment about the virtuous barbell that we use to inform our investment strategy at WGA (“Inflation and a Virtuous Barbell”). On the one hand, we anchor our portfolio in precious metals, real estate and commodities. These are long-term positions meant to counter the steady erosion of the purchasing power of the dollar.
On the other hand, we balance the portfolio with income from fiat assets such as Annaly Capital Management (NLY) and capital appreciation from momentum driven sectors such as AI stocks. We’ve been taking profits in AI stocks and have rotated back into solid energy sector names such as Chevron Corporation (CVX) and The Williams Companies (WMB).
Subscribers to the Premium Service of The Institutional Risk Analyst may see the updated WGA Precious Metals Top 25 and the 49-stock test group by logging into the web site and navigating to the Top Rankings page.
Despite recent severe plunges, both gold and silver are still up over the past 12 months due to massive earlier rallies. Gold sits around $4,329 to $4,344 oz (up ~ 30% YOY) and silver trades near $67 to $68.50 oz (up ~ 100% YOY).
We’ve been adding to our positions in silver to take advantage of market weakness and selling our last positions in AI bubble stocks. When a heretofore sleepy technology stock is up hundreds of percent in less than a year, that is your signal to 1) take profits and 2) look for good inflation hedges.
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