(Kitco News) - For many investors, gold remains an anomaly because it produces no cash flow, pays no dividend, and resists conventional valuation models. However, for Jeff Sarti, CEO of Morton Wealth, that’s precisely the point.
“Gold is not an investment — it’s savings,” Sarti said in an interview with Kitco News. “Over the long run, the purpose of gold is as a store of value.”
Sarti’s firm has been managing a gold position since 2015, and while gold’s parabolic rally at the start of the year created a lot of excitement in the marketplace, he said the move made him nervous. He explained that the yellow metal’s true role is being widely misunderstood — even as its long-term case strengthens.
At its core, Sarti views gold as the ultimate store of value, one that has outlasted every fiat currency system in history.
“Reserve currencies come and go, but gold has proven to serve that role throughout generations,” he said.
Although many fund managers have shunned gold because it can be difficult to value as a non-yielding asset, Sarti dismisses these concerns as overcomplicated. He added that he sees gold as a hedge against rising debt and currency debasement.
“By definition, a store of value should be boring,” he said. “I want gold at $2,500, not $10,000 — because $10,000 means something is very wrong,” he noted.
This perspective runs counter to speculative narratives that have driven recent market momentum. While acknowledging “speculative fervor” over the past year, Sarti said such activity is typical in any asset cycle and does not undermine gold’s long-term role.
For the last decade, Sarti said his firm has held “high single-digit” exposure in precious metals, with roughly 5–6% in gold and an additional 2–3% in mining equities.
Rather than attempting to time the market, Sarti said the firm practices disciplined rebalancing. He added that the firm took some profits during gold’s run to record highs in January.
He said mining stocks are treated as a more tactical extension of gold exposure due to their higher volatility and sensitivity to input costs such as energy.
Looking beyond short-term volatility, Sarti said his long-term bullish outlook on gold is rooted in structural concerns about government debt and monetary policy.
“We are, by any economic equation, bankrupt. The only reason we’re not is because we have the printing press,” he said.
He said the most likely path forward for policymakers is continued currency debasement, accompanied by financial repression — including the potential for yield curve control. Sarti added that it’s not just the U.S. that faces unsustainable debt levels, and because of all the economic uncertainty, it will be nearly impossible for nations to resolve their debt problems through higher growth.
He explained that when inflationary policies are implemented, they would mark a “crossing of the Rubicon” and could justify increasing gold allocations further.
In this environment, Sarti said gold remains under-owned, particularly among institutional investors.
“Virtually no one owns gold,” he said, citing estimates that global portfolios hold less than 0.2% exposure.
That lack of participation suggests the current rally may still be in its early stages, driven more by macro fundamentals than widespread speculative excess.
“I don’t think the general populace is even having these conversations yet,” he said.
For Sarti, the signal that a true peak is approaching will be cultural, not technical.
“When gold becomes part of the mainstream — when you see it in Super Bowl ads — that’s when I’ll start to worry,” he said.
At the same time, Sarti said gold is ultimately just one piece of a broader strategy centered on real assets and non-correlated investments.
In an environment defined by rising debt, persistent inflation risks, and potential stagflation, Sarti expects investors to increasingly favor tangible assets over financial ones. This shift, he said, could define the next phase of the gold market — not as a speculative trade, but as a foundational element of portfolio resilience.
