The World Gold Council has made a senior hire focused on educating investors about the precious metal.

The World Gold Council has appointed John Reade as chief market strategist.

Reade previously worked at Paulson & Co, a US investment firm, where he was managing partner of Paulson Europe and a gold strategist. Earlier, he spent a number of years as a precious metal strategist at UBS.

At the WGC, he is charged with helping to meet what the organisation described as growing demand for insights and information on the role that gold can play in managing risk, as well as boosting returns, in individual and institutional investor portfolios.

“We are seeing a step change in mainstream investors’ interest in gold, partly driven by gold’s recent price performance and partly by the ongoing risk environment,” said Aram Shishmanian, chief executive of the WGC.

“Far from easing, 2017 has ushered in an even more complex set of political and economic conditions for investors and fund managers to navigate,” Shishmanian said.

He added: “Inflated stock market valuations, Brexit and fears of currency depreciation and the divergence in monetary policies in the US and Europe are a number of the intricacies that investors face. John will play a crucial role in helping to analyse market conditions and inform investors and policy makers of the stabilising role that gold can play in a world of heightened risk.”