Who credibly writes about gold — and how much weight each one deserves

Central banks and monetary authorities

PRIMARY RECORD. The Federal Reserve publishes its own account of historical monetary frameworks, including the gold standard as a past nominal anchor, and a 2026 staff note tracing gold on its balance sheet. The Bank of England publishes what it custodies, including approximately 400,000 bars held for the UK and other central banks. The European Central Bank publishes reserve templates listing gold among reserve assets. Weight: highest for what these institutions hold, report and did. Not investment advice, and silent on private investing.

The IMF

PRIMARY RECORD AND ANALYSIS. A factsheet on the Fund's own gold and the rules governing it; a July 2026 note on gold in central-bank reserves that records gold's prominence and absence of credit risk while stating that it is volatile and its hedging and diversification benefits are conditional; a working paper on the Bretton Woods gold puzzle; and policy work on reserve accumulation. Weight: high, and unusually valuable here because it is the strongest institutional counterweight to industry advocacy. Working papers are authors' research, not official Fund policy.

Industry bodies — World Gold Council and LBMA

INDUSTRY POSITION. The World Gold Council is funded by gold mining companies. Its demand series is the standard published dataset and its strategic-asset material is advocacy; both are cited here with that label attached, and its central-bank survey reports self-declared attitudes rather than measured flows. The LBMA is the trade association of the London bullion market; its reference guides describe market and custody mechanics reliably, while magazine articles carry their individual authors' views. Weight: high for market mechanics and data collection, discounted for conclusions about whether to own gold.

Government minerals and statistical agencies

DATA. The US Geological Survey publishes gold's physical properties, uses, production and supply statistics, and describes its historical monetary status and long-term store-of-value use. Weight: high and disinterested for physical and supply facts. It does not analyse portfolios or prices.

Asset managers and investment banks

HOUSE VIEW AND FORECAST. BlackRock publishes a gold and gold-equity outlook; Goldman Sachs Research publishes a gold price forecast attributing much of its expectation to central-bank buying; J.P. Morgan and UBS publish their own views; Fidelity publishes client education stating that short-term movements are unpredictable. Weight: useful reasoning, dated and revised, from firms that manage, distribute or trade the exposure. A forecast is never treated as a fact on this site.

Independent researchers and individual portfolio thinkers

ANALYSIS AND OPINION. Morningstar analyses gold's portfolio role independently and stresses volatility, absence of income and limited exposure. Bridgewater examines gold's repricing against fiat currencies as a monetary-regime question. Ray Dalio describes his own balanced-risk framework in which gold appears as an inflation-hedging asset. Lyn Alden publishes her own precious-metals framework under her own name. Weight: Morningstar highest of these for independence; individual commentary is argued opinion, valuable for reasoning and never citable as data.

How to weigh any new source you find

Four questions settle most cases. Who benefits if I believe this? Is the claim measured, argued, or expected? What is the date, and has the situation changed since? And does the document actually say what the person citing it claims? That last question disqualifies a surprising share of what circulates about gold — including material citing the very institutions listed above.

• Identify the commercial interest, including ours: Capstone sells physical metal
• Separate data from analysis, forecast and opinion
• Check the date, then check whether the underlying conditions still hold
• Open the primary document rather than trusting the summary

What this directory does NOT claim

None of these organisations or individuals endorses Capstone Metals, gold IRAs, or any dealer's products. None has any relationship with us. Listing a publication is a pointer to something you can read yourself, and nothing more. We also exclude political figures and celebrity endorsements entirely: they are not evidence about an investment.