Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos stand among the wealthiest Americans ever, and, like many ultra-rich investors, they hold the bulk of their wealth in stocks. Just look at Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which recently reached an agreement to buy another $10 billion worth of shares in Alphabet, Google’s parent company (1).
But when it comes to investing in the stock market, market volatility might be prompting today’s rich, young investors to take a slightly different approach.
Individuals aged 21 to 43 with at least $3 million in assets have only 25% of their portfolio invested in stocks, compared to 55% for wealthy investors aged 43 or older, according to a 2022 Bank of America survey (2).
An overwhelming 93% of young millionaires said they plan to boost their exposure to alternatives in the coming years. So, which alternative investments are actually winning their attention and their money?
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A golden opportunity to hedge against inflation
The Bank of America survey revealed that among wealthy young investors, 45% own gold as a physical asset, and another 45% are interested in holding it.
Historically, gold has served as a hedge against inflation and market volatility. Many investors turn to “safe haven” assets like gold during economic and geopolitical instability to preserve their wealth.
Gold prices surged by roughly 60% over the course of 2025 (3), hitting a string of record highs, with J.P. Morgan projecting that gold prices could push toward the US$5,000 (4) mark by the end of 2026.
There are many gold assets to choose from, including gold bars, coins, and gold stocks.
Gold e-certificates, for instance, give you exposure to physical gold without the need to worry about storage, insurance or security. The issuing institution stores the metal and allows you to trade and redeem easily.
Gold ETFs offer another accessible route, letting you buy units of a fund that tracks the price of gold. They trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange like any stock, so you can add to or trim your position easily, often with lower fees than traditional mutual funds or physical gold products.
Platforms such as CIBC Investor’s Edge make it easy to purchase both gold e-certificates and gold ETFs directly from your trading dashboard.
