‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry made a million-dollar bet on gold and won. Will the gold rush continue in 2026?

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Michael Burry’s moves tend to make headlines. The hedge fund manager famously bet against the U.S. housing market in 2008 and won big — a move depicted in the hit movie The Big Short.

And back in early 2024, his investments were making headlines again.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Burry’s company Scion Asset Management made quite a few adjustments to its portfolio in Q1 of 2024 (1).

Among Burry’s notable moves were selling his stakes in Amazon and Alphabet and increasing his holdings of Chinese companies JD.com and Alibaba.

Burry also made a substantial bet on gold by purchasing 440,729 shares of Sprott Physical Gold Trust, valued at $7.6 million in Q1 2024, making it the fifth-largest position in his portfolio.

But did he sell too soon? Scion sold off all its holdings in Sprott just one quarter later, making a fairly modest profit of approximately $1 million on the shares, which were worth an average of $18.14 each at the time of sale (2).

However, if he had kept his position in Sprott through 2025, when share prices reached a peak of $42.07 (3), Scion might have made a whopping $18.5 million from the sale.

This shows that even expert investors can’t always time the market. But Burry’s bearish take on the yellow metal isn’t necessarily proof that the time to sell gold is at hand.

Here’s why gold could still be a buy-and-hold option for your portfolio, and how to invest wisely in this asset.

Gold has been on quite the journey over the past 12 months.

The metal’s record-breaking tear in 2025 crescendoed with its price topping $5,608.35 per ounce in late January 2026, before dipping to $4,660 in early February (4).

While this dip might worry some, Burry attributed it to the huge loss in crypto prices happening at the same time.

“It looks like up to $1 billion in precious metals were liquidated at month’s very end as a result of falling crypto prices,” he wrote in a Substack post, suggesting that investors were attempting to de-risk their portfolios by selling off gold and silver (5).

He might be right. The fact that gold prices are already creeping back up may point to larger gains to be had by the end of 2026 — if you’re willing to hold on.

Sometimes it’s best to hold on for longer, as former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett famously advises: “Our favorite holding period is forever. We are just the opposite of those who hurry to sell and book profits when companies perform well (6).”

The good thing is that there are plenty of options out there for potential gold investors to choose from.

In fact, the process can be quite daunting.

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In periods of previous economic turmoil, gold has tended to outperform other assets. Those looking to add some defensive exposure to their portfolios should consider this alternative asset class.

Of course, there are many ways investors can gain exposure to gold. Buying physical gold coins or bars and storing them in a safe is the most straightforward option. However, this strategy comes with storage and insurance costs, as well as the risk of your physical assets getting stolen or lost.

Then, there’s investing in gold mining stocks or companies that refine and/or use precious metals in one way or another. These companies can provide excellent leverage to rising gold prices, but can have more downside risk as well.

Risk is simply the name of the game for companies that have their revenues denominated in gold and their debt and operating costs denominated in dollars.

Finally, there’s a range of Gold ETFs and retirement accounts that may be a better fit for many investors. These are typically more liquid in nature, can be bought and sold at any time without the premium and discounts typically associated with buying physical gold, and don’t need to be stored.

Some ETFs even track the price of gold futures, while others hold physical gold, so it’s important to read the fine print before picking one specific fund to invest in (or pick a few for diversification, if that’s your game).

While you may not be trading with billions, stock market investing can go a long way toward building wealth.

If you want to build your own portfolio but still want access to real-time insights offered by experts, you can take advantage of the services offered by Moby.

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Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are a popular way to save for retirement, offering tax advantages that can help grow your savings over time.

On the one hand, traditional IRAs allow you to contribute pre-tax income, with taxes deferred until you withdraw the funds during retirement. Roth IRAs, on the other hand, involve contributions made with after-tax dollars, providing tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

In contrast, a gold individual retirement account (IRA) is a specific type of IRA that allows investors to include physical gold and other precious metals in their retirement savings.

This type of IRA offers the same tax advantages as traditional and Roth IRAs, but it also provides the added benefit of diversifying your portfolio with tangible assets.

There is an additional benefit as well. Gold IRAs are appealing because gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, helping to protect your retirement savings from market volatility.

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold and gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold — making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.

To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases.

If you believe in the long-term potential of the yellow metal, a gold IRA could be a valuable addition to your retirement strategy. However, many advisors caution that it should only be a small part of a diversified portfolio, between 5% and 10%.

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13F.info (1); Stock Circle (2); CEF Connect (3); Trading Economics (4); Coindesk (5); Berkshire Hathaway (6)

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