Investing in gold is often called a “fear trade.” In times of crisis, it’s believed that gold will hold its value, and even rise, while the value of paper currencies and other assets fall.  

If you bought SPDR Gold ETF (NYSE:GLD), which seeks to track the price of physical gold, 2 years ago, you’d be up around 36%.   

The S&P 500 is down around 15% during that time.   

You probably already know that gold hit a new all-time high yesterday at $1,200 an ounce. And even though other traditional measures of fear – like the volatility index (VIX), bonds and even stocks – didn’t move much today, the move in gold can’t be ignored.