France removes $15 billion in gold from US vaults, and more EU member states may follow. How it can hit your bottom line

Read more: I’m almost 50 and have no retirement savings. Is it too late?

France is not acting in isolation. Across Europe, there is increasing pressure to repatriate gold reserves, particularly those stored in the United States (5).

In Germany, economists and politicians have called for the return of more than 1,200 tons of gold recently held in New York, citing concerns about the conflict in Iran and the unpredictability of US policy.

The logic is simple: in times of uncertainty, governments want direct access to their reserves without relying on foreign institutions. Or, in other words, they want control.

If more countries follow through with similar moves, the impact could reach far beyond gold.

For decades, the United States has been the world’s financial anchor — a place where countries store reserves, manage trade and rely on institutions like the Federal Reserve for stability.

But the return of gold is, at its core, a signal. One suggests that some governments are becoming less comfortable leaving strategic assets under US control. Central banks themselves increasingly cite geopolitics as the top risk influencing reserve decisions (6).

It is played in other areas:

• Some countries are reducing their exposure to the US dollar, whose share of global reserves has declined over time (7).

• Central banks have been diversifying away from US-linked assets in favor of gold for years (8).

Taken together, these moves indicate a slow but meaningful trend: less reliance on the US-centric financial system.

Most investors probably don’t manage central banks, but they do are Uncover the same driving forces behind bank decisions.

When governments start rethinking where they store wealth, it’s usually not about short-term gains. It’s about risk.

For everyday investors, that tends to show up in familiar ways. A weaker dollar could increase import costs and inflation. Market volatility can cause stocks and bonds to move unpredictably, and global volatility can ripple through everything from interest rates to housing costs.

If most of your assets are tied to one currency, one market or one type of asset, you are more vulnerable when conditions change. So do countries when their reserves stay in one place.

That’s why many institutional and retail investors are focusing on diversification not just in stocks and bonds, but in different asset classes altogether.

Gold has long been a hedge against inflation, currency fluctuations and geopolitical tensions.

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But it’s not just gold that investors are looking to anchor their assets to something tangible.

Real estate has historically offered a mix of income and stability, making it a popular option when public markets feel stretched or volatile.

Rental properties have long been a proven source of steady, passive income.

However, the time, effort, and costs involved in managing and maintaining multiple properties deter many from investing. So unless you’re a hedge fund titan or an oil baron, you’re locked out of one of the most profitable corners of the market.

There comes Mogul. This real estate investment platform offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, giving investors monthly rental income, real-time valuations and tax benefits — without the need for hefty down payments or 3 a.m. rental calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the Mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional-quality offerings at a fraction of the normal cost.

Each property goes through a vetting process that requires a minimum 12% return even in negative scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8% – their cash-on-cash yield, meanwhile, averages 10% to 12% annually. Offers often sell within three hours, with investments typically between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

Getting started is quick and easy. You can sign up for an account and then browse the available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in a few clicks.

For those looking to take that real estate step forward, some platforms offer access to large, institutional-grade deals.

Owning a rental property sounds great until something goes wrong. One bounced check, and your rental income disappears.

But institutional investors do not face that problem. Their portfolios are diversified into hundreds – sometimes thousands – of units.

Now, accredited investors can tap into that same approach through platforms like Lightstone DIRECT, which gives you access to institutional-quality multifamily and industrial real estate — with a minimum investment of $100,000.

Founded by David Lichtenstein in 1986, Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate investment firms in the US, with more than $12 billion in assets under management.

Over nearly four decades, their team has delivered strong, risk-adjusted performance over multiple market cycles — including a 27.6% historical net IRR and a 2.54x historical net equity multiple on actual investments since 2004.

With Lightstone DIRECT, you get access to the same multifamily and industrial deals that Lightstone pursues with its own capital.

Here’s the kicker: Lightstone invests at least 20% of its own capital in each deal — nearly four times the industry average. With skin in the game, the firm ensures that its interests are directly aligned with those of its investors.

Institutional investors have long used large real estate portfolios for smooth returns, and now, individual investors are beginning to access similar strategies.

Even looking beyond traditional markets for investors, some are turning to assets that don’t chase real estate or equities. When markets are unpredictable, diversification sometimes means looking beyond financial assets, especially in categories that have historically had little correlation with stocks.

In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked, and it took 14 long years to fully recover.

today? Goldman Sachs is forecasting just 3% annual returns from 2024 to 2034. It sounds bleak but not surprising: The S&P is trading at its highest price-to-earnings ratio since the dot-com boom. Vanguard isn’t far behind, projecting around 5%.

In fact, almost everything feels valued near all-time highs – equities, gold, crypto, you name it.

That’s why billionaires have long carved out chunks of their portfolios in asset classes with little correlation to the market and strong rebound potential: post-war and contemporary art.

It may sound surprising, but more than 70,000 investors have followed suit through Masterworks since 2019. Now you can own partial shares of works by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more.

Masterworks has sold 27 artworks to date, yielding total annualized returns of 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.

MoneyWise readers can get priority access to Diversify with Art: Leave the waiting list here.

Note that past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investment involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd.

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We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reporting. For details, see our Editorial ethics and guidelines.

Reuters (1), (6), (8); The Guardian (2), (7); Reel Financial (3); World Gold Council (4); American Alternative Assets (5)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.