$iShares Gold Trust(IAU)$ IAU is attractive now as market volatility remains elevated, making gold a stabilizing force in portfolios. With uncertainty around interest rate policy and potential stagflation, gold’s historical resilience becomes more valuable. IAU’s structure as a grantor trust ensures it directly tracks physical gold prices, offering pure exposure without mining stock risk. It also requires no storage or insurance hassles like physical bullion. In times of declining real yields or dollar weakness, gold tends to outperform—IAU captures that upside. As a low-cost, low-maintenance asset, it fits seamlessly into both growth and defensive strategies, appealing to conservative and tactical investors alike.