State Street's Doshi Champions Gold as Core Portfolio Diversifier Amid Structural Demand

State Street's Aakash Doshi highlights gold's durable role as a strategic core holding driven by cyclical, non-cyclical, and counter-cyclical demand, central bank buying, and geopolitical risks. Gold rocketed from $4,389/oz end-2025 to $5,589 ATH on Jan 28, 2026, amid Iran war flows and $38.86T U.S. debt alarms, before plunging 21% to ~$4,400 in its worst weekly drop since 1983 on ETF outflows and dollar strength. Despite volatility, IAU delivered 42% returns through May 1, 2026, spurring allocators to efficient ETF strategies like 90/60 frameworks for stacked exposure.