As reported here, Daniel Casali, chief investment strategist at UK wealth manager was driven more by emerging markets, and central banks’ buying of gold,” Reade said. “This year, it is more of a Western investment story.”

As Evelyn Partners’ Casali said: “Globally, net bullion purchases have accelerated since Western sanctions on Russia in 2022. At the current pace, central banks are on track to buy around 1,000 tonnes for what would be the fourth consecutive year in 2025, compared with an annual average of 48 tonnes sold between 1970 and 2021.”

Keeping track of these shifts in thinking and action is part of Reade’s role. He’s been at the World Gold Council since 2017. He develops strategy for gold and engages with all aspects of the gold market. He is also one of the principal spokespeople for the organisation. In total, Reade has worked in the gold industry for more than three decades, working for gold-mining companies in production and project evaluation. He has also worked for investment banks as an equity analyst and gold strategist; and at an asset manager as gold strategist and portfolio manager. Metal and mining were early passions: Reade has a degree in mining engineering from the Royal School of Mines, a constituent of Imperial College, London.

His understanding of the mining industry gives him an insight on the supply-demand dynamic of gold.

Mining output on the supply side looks set to be at its 2018 record, Reade said.

There are challenges about bringing fresh mine capacity into the market. Supplies from existing mines become depleted, so new sources are needed to sustain output; gold also tends to be in places that are often difficult for firms to operate in, because of geopolitical conflict, environmental restrictions, permitting and local regulations, Reade said.

Other metals benefit from the rising gold price.

The rise in gold and supply constraints means that other precious metals such as silver and platinum attract investors. India’s large jewellery market shows signs of switching to silver because of relative price attractions, Reade said. Swiss banks tend to be more willing to introduce clients to the idea of gold and are more capable of providing services, given the country’s infrastructure of smelting, storage, etc, than was the case in the UK.

“In many countries such as Switzerland and China physical gold can be bought easily from high street banks. Wider availability of gold, along with greater understanding of gold’s merits would likely boost demand for the metal as an investment,” Reade said.

Crypto lessons
WealthBriefing asked Reade what he makes of the vertiginous rise of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the volatility of this area, and whether cryptos can attain a “digital gold” ranking in time.

“For a long time crypto was marketed as gold 2.0, but that has slipped. I don’t see crypto as a threat to gold or as a competitor,” he said. However, the bitcoin impact has been positive in driving conversations about what money is and should be. “A lot more people today understand what a fiat currency is than before cryptocurrencies came in.”

With a new year upon us, and conditions continuing to play on nerves, the outlook for gold appears positive.

“The outlook for gold is supportive on the macroeconomic and geopolitical side," he said, citing the US Trump administration’s likely appointment of a new Fed chairman more amenable to cutting interest rates, and concerns about the US budget deficit/debt level.

A UK wealth management house, TrinityBridge, agreed with a positive stance on gold. 

“Just because the calendar has flipped it doesn’t mean the investing backdrop has changed. I expect gold to reflect 2026’s macro regime, just as it did in 2025, and the year before that. Gold is in a multi-year uptrend where moves have historically run further and longer than most expect when a breakout is underway," Giles Parkinson, head of equities at TrinityBridge, a UK wealth management firm, said in a note today.

"The metal is commonly quoted in US dollars: The revealing moment is when gold makes new highs across a variety of currencies, which signals that the price is appreciating in real terms and not as a result of a decline in any one fiat currency. After this takes place, new highs tend to cluster together – although even in a secular bull market double-digit pullbacks still occur," he continued.

"Several factors have come together in recent years to create a strong backdrop for gold. Ever since the financial crisis retail investors’ dominant fear was losing principal; since the pandemic, this has shifted to losing purchasing power. Institutional investors have found that in the post-pandemic inflationary environment gold potentially offers superior equity diversification over sovereign bonds. Central banks are another key marginal buyer this cycle. In hindsight, reserve behaviour changed after the invasion of Ukraine and the freezing of Russian assets. This prompted more reserve diversification into gold, which is ongoing despite the sharp price appreciation," Parkinson added.