The economist explained the reasons for the record growth in gold yields in recent years

The key factor contributing to the growth of gold yields to 294.9% in the period from 2019 to 2025 was the "tectonic" restructuring of the reserve policy of the largest economies. Denis Astafyev, an entrepreneur, fund manager and founder of the SharesPro fintech platform, told Izvestia on February 18.

"After 2022, many countries, including China, India and Turkey, began to actively review the structure of their reserves, reducing the share of the dollar and increasing gold reserves. According to the World Gold Council, in 2025 alone, Central banks bought more than 860 tons, and this created enormous fundamental demand. Monetary policy overlapped with this.: periods of high inflation and dollar depreciation traditionally spur interest in defensive assets," the economist explained.

According to him, other instruments looked less profitable against the background of gold. The Moscow Exchange index gained about 14% over the same period, while the high key interest rate and geopolitical uncertainty limited the growth of the stock market. The real estate market in Russia showed dynamics close to inflation, and taking into account the cost of purchase and maintenance, the real return for the investor remained minimal. Even ruble deposits over a seven-year period have only about doubled inflation, but they have lost almost three times to gold.

The media noted the role of gold purchases in Russia's opposition to sanctions

The expert noted that the metal benefited not only due to the devaluation of the ruble, but also due to the status of a "safe haven" against the background of declining confidence in currencies and debt instruments. At the same time, he believes that a repeat of the same rapid growth should not be expected. Leading investment banks predict the price of gold to be around $6.3 thousand per ounce by the end of 2026, but the market is already partially overheated by speculative demand.

"We see classic FOMO (fear of lost profits) among private investors. As soon as geopolitical tensions decrease or the Fed changes its rhetoric, a correction is possible. With the current volatility, it is worth entering gold with an understanding of long—term goals, and not in pursuit of quick profits," Astafyev stressed.

He added that in terms of liquidity, the gold market remains one of the most transparent and accessible. Investors can choose between physical metal, depersonalized metal accounts and exchange-traded funds, which allows them to quickly manage investments.

Garegin Tosunyan, President of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB), said on February 17 that gold had become the most profitable financial instrument from 2019 to 2025. During this period, its profitability increased to 294.9%.

On February 10, Spartak Sobolev, Head of the Alfa-Forex Investment Strategy Research Department, told Izvestia about the continued corrective dynamics in the precious metals market. The expert also clarified that gold and silver remained significantly below their January price peaks.

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