Track gold, silver, platinum and palladium in Sharesight

With Sharesight, you can track the price and performance of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium. This is in addition to more than 700,000 other assets, including stocks, ETFs, managed/mutual funds and cryptocurrencies, just to name a few. In this blog, we will look at the role precious metals can play in a diversified portfolio, how to track these assets in Sharesight, and the best tools to analyse their performance and role in your portfolio.

Why investors choose precious metals

While they may not pay dividends like stocks or ETFs, precious metals are a popular choice for investors, especially those who are looking to diversify their portfolio with something tangible that has a low correlation or negative correlation with other asset classes. Other potential benefits include:

• Hedge against inflation: When central banks increase the money supply and fiat currencies lose purchasing power, precious metals have historically held their value, acting as a reliable store of wealth.
• Safe haven asset: During periods of economic or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to precious metals, particularly gold. This flight to safety can drive up their value when other assets, like equities, are falling.
• Cultural preferences: Beyond financial markets, a significant and consistent source of demand for gold and silver comes from their deep-rooted cultural importance. This isn't just history; it's a powerful, ongoing market driver that provides a strong demand floor, independent of economic cycles.
• Store of value: Unlike currencies, which can be printed at will, precious metals have a finite supply. This inherent scarcity has made them a trusted store of value for millennia.

Comparing gold, silver, platinum and palladium

Each metal has distinct properties and different roles to play in an investment portfolio.

How to track precious metals in Sharesight

In Sharesight, you can track the following precious metals:

• Gold: Troy ounce (METAL.XAU) or gram (METAL.XAUG)
• Silver: Troy ounce (METAL.XAG) or gram (METAL.XAGG)
• Platinum: Troy ounce (METAL.XPT) or gram (METAL.XPTG)
• Palladium: Troy ounce (METAL.XPD) or gram (METAL.XPDG)

To track any of these metals in your portfolio, simply add a trade and type in the relevant ticker code as listed above.

Why Sharesight is the best place to track your precious metals

If you invest in gold, silver, platinum or palladium, Sharesight makes it easy to track the price and performance of these assets alongside the rest of your investments. You can get a high-level summary of your portfolio’s performance on the Overview page, or for deeper insights, you can explore some of our reporting tools.

Discover your asset allocation with the diversity report

If you’re investing in precious metals to diversify your portfolio, you can use the diversity report to calculate your portfolio’s asset allocation. Simply run the report sorted by industry classification to see a breakdown of your portfolio’s asset allocation.

A chart from the diversity report showing a portfolio that is heavily weighted towards precious metals.

Get performance insights with the contribution analysis report

Once you have determined your asset allocation with the diversity report, you can run the contribution analysis report to see how your asset classes are performing relative to each other. This will give you an idea of how much your investment in precious metals has contributed to your overall return — helping you evaluate your investment strategy and rebalance your portfolio as needed.

Identify risky assets in your portfolio with the risk report

You can compare the risk and return of the different assets in your portfolio using the drawdown risk report. This report provides a clear view of risk-adjusted performance, with assets in the lower right quadrant indicating high risk and low returns, while assets in the upper left quadrant indicate low risk and high returns (such as precious metals in the example below).

A chart from the drawdown risk report (grouped by investment type), showing precious metals as a high-return, low risk asset class in the portfolio.

See your portfolio’s full composition with the exposure report

If you’re invested in ETFs, you may not know the true composition of your investment portfolio. By running the exposure report, you can see the underlying holdings of your ETFs, giving you a better understanding of your portfolio’s exposure to different industries, asset classes, geographies and more. For example, you may be invested in precious metals without even knowing it, as certain ETFs (such as those themed around natural resources and mining, commodities or alternatives) may have some allocation to gold. This granular look into your portfolio will help ensure that you don’t overweight your portfolio in precious metals (or any other asset).

Track the performance of your precious metals with Sharesight

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a specific product recommendation, or taxation or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. While we use reasonable endeavours to keep the information up-to-date, we make no representation that any information is accurate or up-to-date. If you choose to make use of the content in this article, you do so at your own risk. To the extent permitted by law, we do not assume any responsibility or liability arising from or connected with your use or reliance on the content on our site. Please check with your adviser or accountant to obtain the correct advice for your situation.

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