After a historic run pushing gold and silver to multiple record highs in the final days of 2025, veteran precious metals executive Robert Gottlieb argues that the market has undergone a fundamental structural shift, moving beyond mere speculative mania.
In an interview with Kitco News, Gottlieb, formerly of JPMorgan and HSBC, stated, “This is not 1980. This is not Reddit. This is people waking up to hard assets as a necessity.”
Gold: Driven by Policy, Not Price
Gottlieb identifies the turning point for gold as 2022, when the weaponization of the U.S. dollar against Russia prompted emerging market central banks to diversify aggressively into gold. Crucially, he notes that this official sector buying is driven by policy rather than price, creating a durable floor for the metal regardless of speculative flows.
Silver: Structural Shortage Realized
For silver, the defining moment arrived this past summer as the market realized the extent of global supply constraints. Years of robust industrial demand have depleted above-ground stockpiles. Gottlieb points to elevated lease rates and long-term backwardation as evidence that the market tightness is structural, not temporary.
2026 Outlook: Moderate Gains, Healthy Corrections
While bullish, Gottlieb cautions investors to temper their expectations for the coming year.
No Mania:
"We’re not going to see another 60% or 70% year," he warned. instead, he forecasts moderate gains of 10–15% for gold, built on structural support.
Volatility in Silver:
Investors in silver should brace for volatility. "The sell-offs will be bigger. The corrections will be more painful. But the long-term story is still intact," Gottlieb said, viewing pullbacks as healthy resets.
A Structural Re-Rating
The overarching theme for 2026 is the mainstream acceptance of hard assets in portfolio construction. With the traditional 60/40 model under scrutiny, Gottlieb believes the structural shift toward including tangible assets like gold and silver is now established. "In 2026, people don’t need to discover gold and silver — they already believe in them," he concluded.
them," he concluded.