Gautam Shah Expects Gold To Touch $3,350, Outperform Equity Markets Next Year

Gold is expected to surge to $3,350 over the next year, marking a potential 20–22% upside from its current price of around $2,700, according to Gautam Shah, founder of Goldilocks Premium Research. Shah believes that geopolitical instability and financial uncertainties will drive gold prices.

"Gold has already outpaced equity markets in returns over the last year and should continue to outperform, especially as benchmark indices like NSE 500 and Nifty are expected to remain range-bound," Shah told NDTV Profit in an exclusive interview.

According to him, people should buy gold during Dhanteras. "Cultural or not, I think you should go out and buy the precious metal. Even at $2,700, I see a lot of value. In the last year, it’s been a very classical move up. And I think we are still very far from a parabolic rally in gold and silver," he said.

Explaining the reason behind his advice to investors to allocate a larger share of their portfolios to precious metals, he said,"Historically, gold and silver have constituted around 3–5% of a portfolio. But with current global uncertainties and attractive entry points, I recommend increasing that allocation to 10–15%.”

Silver, on the other hand, is seen as a high-beta investment that benefits from both market volatility and its industrial use, particularly in electric vehicles.

Shah anticipates silver reaching $41 within the next 12–24 months, with a potential to hit $50 in three years. "Silver has shown more dramatic price movements, swinging between 3–6% in a day, driven not only by geopolitics but also by its demand in industrial processes," he said.

On how to distribute the investment between the two precious metals, "It depends on the profile of the investors. If somebody is a little conservative, I would say do 60–65% gold and 30–35% silver. If somebody is a little bit aggressive then, I think the larger allocation should be silver with 55–60% and the rest gold. In terms of alpha, I think that silver will give you much better returns in the next 12–18 months."

While sharing his insights on crude oil, Shah said, "I am really interested to see what crude does from here." According to him, NYMEX crude, which is currently around $70, could reach $90–95 over the next year. "Crude has limited downside risk at this level, and I believe it could serve as a promising commodity play over the next 6–8 months.”

He emphasised that, despite some foreign institutional investor outflows, domestic capital remains strong, with any FII exit likely being temporary as global markets normalise.

On the equity side, Shah expressed optimism in sectors such as financial services, IT, pharma, and metals. "My top picks would be SBI, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, and JSW Energy," he said.