brokerage firms, which offer higher yields— locked in for longer periods— than those available from banks.“ Brokered CDs are liquid and tradable,” adds Lutton, referring to the fact that they can be sold on the secondary market before their term is up, without a penalty for early withdrawal. The downside, though, is that some brokered CDs can be“ called back” before they reach maturity. CD issuers might do this if interest rates drop, leaving the account holder with less gain than expected.

CDs can also be laddered( like bonds are) with staggered term limits. As each one reaches maturity, it can be cashed out if clients need the cash or interest rates have fallen; otherwise, the proceeds can be reinvested in new CDs. Such ladders are“ an effective tool to manage and mitigate timing of locking-in rates,” says Rob Williams, a managing director at Charles Schwab.“ Spreading out money across CD maturities can be a good way to deploy cash that you’ re not going to need for spending, but want to invest as part of your portfolio or for money you may need to withdraw periodically.”

Whichever cash or cash equivalent option a client chooses, they ought to begin by calculating how much of their savings should be in cash. If they put too much in, they could lose out on the potential compounding growth they’ d get from having more invested in stocks. If it’ s too little, they might have to sell off other assets to cover emergencies.

There is no magic number, most advisors agree. Some say that clients should keep roughly six months of living expenses in a safe and liquid cash-equivalent account. Others recommend allocating 10 % of their portfolio to cash equivalents. It all depends on client circumstances.

“ If they are retiring soon, they should consider having two years’ worth of expenses in cash,” says Carlos.“ If they are in the wealth-building phase, it would depend on their risk tolerance.”

Given the current state of market turmoil and uncertainty, he says, most of his wealth-building clients are earmarking 10 % of their savings in cash or cash equivalents.

— Ben Mattlin

Market benchmarks like the SPDR S & P 500 ETF saw big dips from January 1 to April 15, 2025: The SPDR fund fell 7.99 % during that time while the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF slid an even deeper 10 %. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Shares fund, the globe’ s largest ETF backed by physical gold, soared almost 23 %. The fund has more than $ 98 billion in assets.

While the S & P 500 richly rewarded investors in 2023 and 2024,“ since liberation day, April 2nd of this year, the playbooks for 2025 have been scrambled a little bit,” says John Kinnane, director of key accounts at Sprott Asset Management.

Amid scrambling markets, there’ s been a flood into ETFs physically backed by gold and silver. In April, precious metals ETFs gained $ 6.6 billion in new assets and won the largest net inflows for the month in the commodities category.

Mining stock ETFs have fared well, too. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF, for instance, returned over 49 % for the year until April 15.

There are specialized strategies, too. The USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund offers a unique income spin on gold by selling covered calls to generate income. It carries a 30-day SEC yield of 3.36 % and has gained 20.72 % so far this year.

“ One of the enduring qualities of gold is that it’ s actually an uncorrelated asset. Investors of all kinds are looking for low correlation so that in times of volatility— like we’ re in right now— they have smoother returns for their overall portfolio,” Kinnane says.

In February, Sprott launched the Sprott Active Gold & Silver Miners ETF. It includes gold and silver mining shares into one ETF ticker with an actively managed strategy.

While gold-linked funds have thrived, neither bitcoin nor the rest of the cryptocurrency market have provided investors much protection.

The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, a measure of 10 different cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, sank 21.28 % from January 1 to April 15. Tinier cryptocurrencies, especially meme coins and tokens, have been lousy performers.

Gold’ s outperformance has been helped by booming investor demand, but also purchases by central banks. 2024 was the third consecutive year they added more than 1,005 tonnes to their global gold reserves.

The takeaway would be that cryptocurrencies still appear to be a risk asset, not a capital preservation asset.

“ Respondents were clear that the central banking community would continue to increase its allocations to gold in the near term,” said a 2024 report on reserves by the World Gold Council.

The takeaway would be that cryptocurrencies still appear to be a risk asset, not a capital preservation asset.

— Ron Delegge

MAY 2025 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 11