This is exactly where an asset comes in that is often missing or incorrectly weighted in modern DIY portfolios: gold. It does not act as a return driver in the classic sense, but rather as a stabilizing insurance policy. However, the problem for you as an investor is often the practical implementation. The manual addition of raw materials and gold requires constant monitoring and tax know-how. This is exactly where the advantage of modern, automated approaches like OSKAR becomes apparent. There, inflation protection via physically secured gold is already firmly anchored in the basic structure of the investment strategy, without you having to worry about purchasing ETCs individually.
Why stocks alone are not enough
To understand why gold has a place in your portfolio, we need to look at the correlation. In financial theory, correlation describes how two asset classes relate to each other. A value of +1 means they move absolutely parallel; a value of -1 means they move in opposite directions.
Stocks are productive capital. They increase when the economy grows. Gold, on the other hand, is a scarce commodity with no interest coupon or dividend. Its value is measured primarily by its status as a “safe haven”. Gold shines in market phases in which confidence in paper currencies declines or when real interest rates (nominal interest rate minus inflation rate) are negative.
The advantages of adding raw materials at a glance:
- Inflation protection: While money loses purchasing power, tangible assets such as gold retain their intrinsic value
- Diversification: Gold reduces the volatility (range of fluctuations) of your overall portfolio. When the stock market corrects by 20%, commodities often cushion this fall significantly
- Liquidity: Gold ETCs (Exchange Traded Commodities) can be traded on the stock exchange at any time. In contrast to physical bars in the locker, which can cause high discounts (spreads) when sold
Where self-implementation fails
Theoretically, you could simply add a gold ETC to your portfolio yourself. But in practice, many DIY investors encounter three hurdles that cost returns in the long term:
- The rebalancing dilemma: Let’s say you want a gold ratio of 10%. When the stock market is booming, your gold percentage decreases. When the market crashes, it rises sharply. To maintain your risk profile, you would have to act countercyclically, i.e. sell gold when it is expensive and buy stocks when they are cheap. Most investors shy away from this manual effort or act in exactly the wrong way emotionally
- The tax complexity: There are subtle differences with gold ETCs. Some products are tax-free after a holding period of one year, others are subject to withholding tax. Anyone who chooses the wrong products here is wasting money
- The denomination: A small savings plan of 50 or 100 euros is difficult to divide into different asset classes. The minimum order sizes for special raw material products are often too high to reflect a precise asset allocation (division of capital).
Why rebalancing is particularly important for gold
Gold often behaves countercyclically to stocks. This means that in times of crisis, the price of gold shoots up while stocks fall. Without active rebalancing, the gold content in your portfolio would increase massively in a crisis and your portfolio would suddenly be overweight in an asset that does not pay dividends. Conversely, during boom phases of the economy, the share falls so much that insurance coverage for the next crash is lost. Systematic rebalancing ensures that profits on gold are automatically taken and reallocated into cheaper stocks (and vice versa) in order to keep your risk profile constant.
OSKAR as a reference for intelligent raw material management
At this point it becomes clear why an automated solution can be the more efficient choice. OSCAR2 uses a professional portfolio structure that goes far beyond the classic “stock-bond 60/40 model”.
A central component here is the integration of gold and other raw materials via low-cost ETFs and ETCs. The system takes over all the administrative tasks that would cost you time and nerves as a private investor:
- Automatic rebalancing: The system monitors daily whether the weighting of gold still corresponds to your chosen strategy. If it deviates, countermeasures are taken automatically. In this way, securing profits becomes a systematic approach
- Professional selection: Only products that are physically backed with gold are selected. This means you participate directly in the value development of the precious metal, without the storage problems of physical stocks
- IBAN logic & tax optimization: Since you are at OSCAR2 If you keep your own account with a German partner bank, tax allowances are automatically taken into account. The complexity of the different asset classes is smoothed out for you in the background
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Conclusion: Security through systematics
A robust portfolio is not characterized by the fact that it achieves the highest return in good weather phases, but rather by the fact that it does not collapse in times of crisis. The targeted addition of gold is a rational decision to minimize risk.
If you don’t want the hassle of manual selection, rebalancing and tax documentation, a hybrid approach is the most sensible solution and a platform like OSCAR2 offers you exactly this institutional quality. A broad diversification across stocks, bonds and the very inflation protection through gold that is missing in so many private portfolios.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about gold in the depot
How much gold should you have in your portfolio?
Most experts and portfolio managers recommend a mix of 5% to 15%. This is absolutely sufficient to achieve a noticeable smoothing of volatility without slowing down the long-term return potential too much due to too much interest-free capital.
Is gold in the depot tax-free?
That depends on the product. Physical gold is tax-free after one year of holding. The following applies to securities: Only gold ETCs that have a physical delivery option (such as Xetra-Gold) are often treated like physical gold by the German tax authorities and are tax-free after 12 months. Other gold certificates are subject to withholding tax. Professional providers pay attention to this tax optimization when making their selection.
2Note: Oskar is a brand of Oskar.de GmbH, a spin-off of finanzen.net GmbH. Scalable Capital Vermögensverwaltung GmbH manages the assets, Baader Bank AG manages the securities accounts with clearing accounts. Further information can be found here.