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Gold Or Equity? Manish Chokhani, Ramesh Damani Differ On Which Investment Is Better

Manish Chokhani clarifies that he did not mean that investors should focus primarily or solely on gold for profits.

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'Gold to me is not the equivalent of a stock,' says Manish Chokhani (Photo: Envato)
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Gold has historically been a hedge against inflation and should be bet on, according to Manish Chokhani, veteran investor and director of Inam Holdings Pvt.

However, ace investor Ramesh Damani disputed the claim, saying that equities are a better alternative due to the potential for higher returns on investment.

"Long-term track record for gold is 3% per annum if you go back 150 years of gold history. You're not doing anything great by buying gold," Damani said.

The two had their conversation at the NDTV Profit IGNITE event on Friday.

"If you're a trader that got it right, hats off to you. But generally, it delivers poorer, inferior returns in the long run. Perfectly fine being in equity," he added.

Chokhani countered this by bringing attention to the uncertainties that affect the stock market, such as US tariffs, tech bubbles and global currency valuation, and how gold is a safe bet in the face of the volatile elements.

"This institutional hedge our families had to be in gold and be in real estate was an inflation hedge in India. With Trump blowing up the economy, the developed world is trying to inflate its way out of the debt problem," he said.

Chokhani stated that countries are moving away from the US currency, using China, Russia and Saudi Arabia as examples, reducing their dependency on the dollar and moving to other avenues.

"Gold to me is not the equivalent of a stock. Gold is a currency, if the BRICS had to settle amongst itself, you're not going to trust a ruble and a yuan. If the net settlement happens in gold, you'd be okay to do the trade, that's what these guys are going towards," he said.

Chokhani clarified that he did not mean that investors should focus primarily or solely on gold for profits.

"Not suggesting gold today, at 4,000, it's on parabolic, like markets it will have a consolidation phase. But the story is not over yet, this move away from tech to hard assets which occurs every decade unfailingly is very much on," he said.

Chokhani broke down every era of investing from the 70s to the present, talking about how investor preferences pivoted back and forth from tech to hard assets and how the trend still continues.

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"The AI boom is the last sign of mania. If you're buying a capital goods stock and giving it 70% of global market cap, or $4.5 trillion. There is serious money to be lost. Are you telling me the US will make 70% of the global markets of the world?" Chokhani said.

Saying that "we are nearing an AI bubble", the investor noted that 10 major companies are 25% of global market cap.

He said that countries like the US were "printing money", and that "foolish countries" are accumulating the currency and thinking these are reserves.

"The smart money, the bigger central banks of the world are buying gold like there's no tomorrow and silver like there's no tomorrow. This trade is real, it's for real," Chokhani said.

Watch The Full Conversation Here

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the investment advisers on NDTV Profit are of their own and not of NDTV Profit. NDTV Profit advises users to consult with their own financial or investment adviser before taking any investment decision.

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