Gold is held for several stated reasons, and the evidence supports some more than others.
Inflation hedging
Weak correlation with inflation over most periods studied.
Which is a persistent finding.
Crisis behaviour
Rising during some crises and falling in others.
Which is less reliable than claimed.
Diversification
Low correlation with equities over long periods.
Which is the stronger argument.
No income
Producing no cash flow.
Which distinguishes it from productive assets.
What the evidence supports and does not
The inflation hedge reputation is not well supported over most measured periods; gold has been a poor short-run inflation hedge and an inconsistent long-run one.
Which is a finding that surprises people given how widely the claim is repeated.
What holds up better is low correlation with equities over long periods, which is a diversification argument rather than a protection argument, and a weaker claim than the one usually made.
Crisis performance
Mixed across historical episodes.
Which includes falling alongside everything else during liquidity events.
No yield
Returns depending entirely on price change.
Which distinguishes it from productive assets.
Allocation
Typically discussed as a small portfolio percentage.
A general note
This describes research and is not investment advice.
Why this sector attracts so much bad information
Precious metals sit at the intersection of a genuine asset class, a physical product with wide retail margins, and a set of narratives about currency collapse and financial crisis that sell extremely well.
That combination produces an unusual amount of marketing dressed as analysis. The metal itself is a legitimate holding with a long history; a great deal of what is written about it is produced by people selling it, and the two are difficult to separate if you are reading only the material that finds you.
The questions worth asking before buying anything
What is the premium over spot, what will a dealer pay to buy it back, what exactly do I own if this is a storage or digital product, who holds it, is it allocated to me specifically, and what happens if the provider fails.
Those six questions dispose of most of the problems in this sector. They are all answerable before purchase, and a seller who cannot answer them clearly has told you something useful.
What the evidence actually supports
Low correlation with equities over long periods, which is a diversification argument. Not a reliable short-run inflation hedge, despite the reputation. Not a consistent crisis performer, despite the narrative. No income, so returns depend entirely on price.
That is a defensible case for a modest allocation and a much weaker case than the marketing makes, and the difference between the two is where most retail disappointment originates.
A general note
Nothing here is investment advice. Tax treatment, regulation, consumer protection and dealer practice differ substantially between countries. Anything with money attached warrants checking against the rules where you are and, for anything significant, advice from a qualified professional.
The gap between spot and reality
Almost everything that goes wrong for retail buyers in this sector comes down to one thing: the distance between the price quoted on a screen and the price at which an individual can actually buy and then sell.
That gap is made up of fabrication cost, distribution, dealer margin, sales tax where it applies, storage where it is needed, and the spread when selling back. None of it is hidden, all of it is checkable in advance, and almost nobody checks it before buying.
Where the reliable information is
Industry councils publish quarterly demand and supply data, free. Exchanges and benchmark administrators publish prices and methodology. Regulators publish warnings about specific firms and practices. Refiner accreditation lists are maintained publicly.
All of that is dry, none of it is promoted, and it is the material that actually describes the market rather than the material that is trying to sell you part of it.
A closing observation
Gold has been held as a store of value for a very long time and there are reasonable arguments for a modest allocation. Those arguments do not require any claims about currency collapse, and the material that leans on such claims is generally selling something at a premium.
Separating the asset from the narrative around it is most of what a buyer in this sector needs to do.
Further reading
Industry bodies publish demand, supply and price data quarterly and free. Financial regulators publish warnings about firms and practices in this sector, which are worth checking before dealing with anyone unfamiliar.
Both are considerably more useful than the commentary that dominates search results on these subjects, and neither has anything to sell.
One last practical point
Before buying physical metal, get a buyback quote from the dealer for the exact product you are considering. That single question tells you the round trip cost immediately.
A dealer who will not quote one, or whose buyback is far below spot, has answered a different and equally useful question.