Ray Dalio said last year gold was good protection because of Trump and North Korea ‘playing chicken’

Finance news

President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday to cancel the Singapore summit with North Korea’s leader sent the price of gold higher as global investors sought safety.

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio shared a specific game plan last year during a time period of rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

The investor recommended gold as the best hedge to protect against any negative geopolitical outcomes.

“Two confrontational, nationalistic, and militaristic leaders playing chicken with each other, while the world is watching to see which one will be caught bluffing, or if there will be a hellacious war,” Dalio wrote in August 2017 on LinkedIn. “We can also say that if … things go badly, it would seem that gold (more than other safe haven assets like the dollar, yen, and treasuries) would benefit.”

At the time, the hedge fund manager suggested investors allocate 5 to 10 percent of their portfolios to gold.

The hedge fund manager also said it is important to be nimble and not be too concentrated during times of geopolitical uncertainty.

“When it comes to assessing political matters (especially global geopolitics like the North Korea matter), we are very humble. We know that we don’t have a unique insight that we’d choose to bet on,” he wrote last year. “We aim to stay liquid, stay diversified, and not be overly exposed to any particular economic outcomes.”

Bridgewater is the world’s largest hedge fund, managing about $160 billion, according to its website. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Link to the source of information: www.cnbc.com