scaredycat, I think you show evidence of having been abused at an impressionable age – by the financial markets.
Certainly hard assets can play a useful role in an investment strategy. But it is also true that assets used to provide goods and services for others usually produce income, whereas commodities can only hope to preserve their value.
Would you rather own an apartment building worth $1 mill, or gold bars worth $1 mill? Obviously, if you buy either at peaks, you could get your clock cleaned. But if you buy in a disciplined way, not chasing returns, and spreading your purchases over a variety of assets, then it’s reasonable to expect that investing in some income-producing businesses would help out a portfolio.
If you are rich enough, or frugal enough, then you can just stuff everything in gold and hope for the best. Most of us are not that rich, or abstemious.
