Barron's Live Thar She Golds! Sizing Up Precious Metals' Historic Run
Feb 2, 2026
John Hathaway, a longtime precious-metals analyst and portfolio manager at Sprott, breaks down the drivers behind gold and silver's historic rally. He discusses central-bank buying, retail speculation and the January silver spike. He compares today’s market to past runs, weighs miners versus bullion, and offers views on copper, uranium and where to allocate in metals and miners.
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Gold's Long Outperformance
- John Hathaway says gold has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 25 years with compound returns around 11% vs. 8% for the S&P.
- He attributes recent acceleration to a monetary reset and geopolitical flux driving demand for gold.
Monetary Reset Fuels Demand
- Hathaway calls the rally part of a "monetary reset" and a growing distrust of the dollar and paper assets.
- He notes central banks have gravitated to gold, increasing reserves and supporting prices.
Use Pullbacks To Position
- Hathaway warns parabolic rallies driven by retail and options speculation need cooling and can prompt sharp pullbacks.
- He advises using the pullback as an opportunity to position new money into metals and miners.