Before Covid-19 appeared, most banks advised customers not to hold or only hold a small amount of gold.

Although gold prices have increased 14% this year to $1,730 an ounce, many retail banks believe the precious metal will continue to rise.

Gold bars on display in an office in Singapore.

Nine retail banks that manage a total of $6 trillion in assets for the super-rich said on Reuters that they have advised customers to increase their portfolio allocation to gold.

`When stocks soar, people get more nervous. They want a portfolio that performs well across multiple scenarios,` said Kiran Ganesh at UBS.

Bankers say older customers tend to be the most worried about inflation.

John LaForge – Director of Asset Strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute said: `Now I get as many questions about gold as I do about oil. Most people are interested in new energies, oil and some

Meanwhile, Oliver Gregson – Director of the UK and Ireland region at JPMorgan Private Bank said that the number of questions he received from customers skyrocketed because they considered this a `port of refuge in the storm`.

For those looking to invest in gold, they have four options: gold mining companies, index funds that track gold prices, gold derivatives contracts, and physical gold (coins or bars).

Andre Portelli – co-chief investment officer at Barclays Private Bank said that although some customers started buying physical gold at the beginning of this year, when the pandemic spread, this trend was still continuing.