Gold is weird, and I find it very disingenuous when it gets recommended to uninformed investors . Gold would not have protected you in 2008 for example. As a matter of fact, it sold off at first, further compounding the headaches of anyone who was using it as a hedge. It started gaining along with the recovery in the stocks.

I'm not saying you are uninformed or Ray Dalio recommended it to uninformed investors. However, these things then get picked up and parroted by less scrupulous individuals.