Gold After the Myth | Dr. (hc) Swapnil Shukla | Realty Files ezine | Feb 2026
Dear Team Realty Files,
I extend my heartfelt gratitude for giving my article a place in the February 2026 issue of Realty Files™. It is truly an honor to contribute to a platform that consistently decodes markets with depth, clarity, and editorial integrity.
Being featured among such insightful narratives is both humbling and encouraging. I deeply appreciate the trust you placed in my perspective on wealth strategy and the evolving role of gold in modern portfolios.
Thank you for fostering conversations that challenge conventional thinking and empower readers to make informed decisions. I look forward to many more opportunities to collaborate and contribute to the powerful editorial vision of Realty Files.
With sincere appreciation,
Dr. (hc) Swapnil Shukla
Gold After the Myth | Where It Truly Belongs in Today’s Wealth Strategy
Gold has never been just an asset in India. It has been memory passed down in lockers, security worn at weddings, and reassurance handed from one generation to the next. For centuries, gold represented certainty in a world that offered very little of it. But the world has changed — dramatically. Today, wealth has more instruments, more intelligence, and more mobility than ever before. Which brings us to a question that most investors avoid asking honestly:
Is gold still a smart investment — or has it become an unquestioned habit?
This is not a dismissal of gold. Nor is it a celebration. It is an attempt to reposition gold exactly where it belongs in a modern portfolio — without nostalgia, fear, or blind faith.
Why Gold Earned Its Legendary Status
Gold became sacred not because it glittered, but because it endured. When currencies failed, gold survived. When governments collapsed, gold held value. When banking systems were absent or unreliable, gold was liquidity in its purest form. It required no trust, no institution, no promise. You held it, and it held value.
That historical context matters deeply. Gold’s reputation was built in a time when people had limited access to productive assets. There were no mutual funds, no global equities, no structured real estate markets, no pension-backed portfolios. Gold worked because alternatives were scarce.
The Modern Misunderstanding of Gold
The most common mistake investors make today is treating gold as a growth asset.
Gold was never designed to compound wealth. It does not produce income, does not benefit from economic productivity, and does not grow alongside urbanization or innovation. Gold preserves purchasing power over long periods, but it does not meaningfully expand it.
In simple terms, gold is defensive by nature. It protects wealth during instability, but it rarely builds wealth during progress.
Expecting gold to behave like real estate or equities is not conservative investing. It is misplaced expectation.
Gold’s Relevance in Today’s World
And yet, dismissing gold entirely would be equally misguided.
We live in a world marked by geopolitical tension, currency volatility, inflationary pressures, and financial systems stretched thin by excess leverage. In such an environment, gold continues to perform one crucial function extremely well: it acts as a stabilizer when trust weakens.
Gold tends to rise not when economies flourish, but when confidence erodes. It performs best during uncertainty, not optimism. This alone defines its role.
Gold is not a growth engine.
It is a shock absorber.
Where Gold Truly Fits in a Modern Portfolio
In today’s wealth architecture, gold should be treated as financial insurance. Its role is to balance volatility, not to dominate allocation. A measured exposure protects portfolios against extreme events without suffocating growth potential.
The problem arises when gold stops being a strategy and becomes an emotional default.
Many investors over-allocate to gold because it feels safe, familiar, and culturally reinforced. But safety without productivity leads to stagnation. Wealth does not grow by standing still.
Gold is most effective when it supports productive assets — not when it replaces them.
The Reality of Gold Accumulation Plans
A gold accumulation plan makes sense only when its purpose is clearly defined. Gold works best as a tool for preserving intergenerational wealth, maintaining emergency liquidity, or stabilizing conservative portfolios. Its strength lies in disciplined, gradual accumulation — not in chasing prices or reacting to market noise.
What gold accumulation should never become is speculation driven by fear or short-term movement. Gold rewards patience, not prediction. When accumulated with clarity, it quietly protects capital. When accumulated emotionally, it turns into idle wealth.
Physical Gold, Paper Gold and the Jewellery Illusion
Physical gold offers ownership and psychological comfort but brings storage and security considerations. Paper gold offers liquidity and ease, yet remains tied to financial systems.
Jewellery belongs to a different category altogether. It is cultural wealth and emotional capital, rich with tradition and identity. Financially, however, it is an inefficient investment. Making charges, design depreciation, and resale losses limit its role as an asset. Expecting investment-grade returns from jewellery misunderstands both jewellery and finance — without diminishing its cultural value.
The Dangerous Romance with Gold
India’s emotional attachment to gold often blocks rational allocation. Large amounts of capital remain locked in dormant holdings, creating families that are asset-rich but opportunity-poor. This is not prudence — it is inertia disguised as tradition.
Gold was never meant to drive growth. It does not earn, compound, or adapt.
So, Does Gold Still Deserve a Place?
Yes — but not as a hero, habit, or foundation. Gold deserves a seat in the portfolio, not the throne. Held with intention, proportion, and clarity, it protects. Held excessively, it quietly limits growth.
Gold is not outdated. Blind faith in gold is.
All that glitters does not need to grow. It needs to know its place.
Swapnil Shukla - In the Press | Explore Here
Dr. (hc) Swapnil Shukla, a pioneering jewelry designer and IGI-Certified Polished Diamond Grader, has redefined the jewelry and fashion industry by inventing the genre of Jewelry Journalism in Hindi. As India's first Jewelry Journalist, her innovative work bridges the gap between high-end jewelry trends and sustainability, making them accessible to Hindi-speaking audiences. A passionate advocate for eco-friendly practices, Swapnil has brought cultural heritage, history, and symbolism into her narratives, contributing to the preservation of indigenous jewelry traditions. Her trailblazing efforts are transforming jewelry journalism into a literary art, setting new benchmarks for responsible design and storytelling.
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