Lead-Lag Live
Lead-Lag Live is your front-row seat to unscripted, real-time conversations with the sharpest minds in finance, economics, and investing.
Hosted by Michael A. Gayed, CFA — publisher of The Lead-Lag Report and a widely followed voice on macro strategy — each episode features candid discussions with top portfolio managers, economists, ETF strategists, best-selling authors, and market practitioners. No scripts. No teleprompters. Just raw insight from people who move markets.
Every week, we go deep on the themes that matter most: macro trends, interest rates and Fed policy, equity and bond markets, ETF strategies, geopolitical risk, asset allocation, commodities, currencies, and the interplay between risk-on and risk-off positioning.
Whether you manage billions or are just getting started, Lead-Lag Live delivers actionable analysis and frameworks you can use — not surface-level market commentary.
Originally broadcast live on X Spaces, every conversation is available here as a full-length podcast so you never miss a discussion.
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Lead-Lag Live
The Forgotten Hedge: Brandon Thor on Gold, Sovereignty, and Beating Wall Street’s Game
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In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Brandon Thor, CEO of Thor Metals Group, to challenge the narratives that have sidelined gold in modern portfolios.
As gold hits fresh highs amid rate cut bets, soaring debt, and a weakening dollar, Brandon explains why less than 1% of investors actually hold it—and why that may be the biggest oversight in wealth protection today.
In this episode:
– Why Wall Street’s revenue model discourages gold ownership
– How Thor Metals Group is breaking industry gimmicks and markups
– Why crypto is not the “new gold” despite the marketing
– The generational wealth gap shaping who owns gold
– How to think about gold as real diversification, not a fear trade
Lead-Lag Live brings you inside conversations with the financial thinkers who shape markets. Subscribe for interviews that go deeper than the noise.
#LeadLagLive #BrandonThor #Gold #PreciousMetals #Diversification #GoldStocks
Gold vs Wall Street's Revenue Models
Speaker 1If you have money with a financial advisor , then they're buying stocks , selling stocks , they have an AUM fee and that's continuous . If you own physical gold , it's a lot harder to justify a gold babysitting fee or something . I think a lot of people got tricked in 2020 by the big push of crypto that , oh , crypto and gold are side by side .
Speaker 2I'm your host , melanie Schaefer . Welcome to Leadlag Live Now . Right now , gold is stealing the spotlight , pushing through fresh , all-time highs as investors weigh rate cuts , ballooning debt and a dollar that looks increasingly shaky . In an environment where stocks are expensive and bonds don't offer much protection , it's no surprise that people are rethinking what diversification really means , and , while gold has been around for thousands of years , less than one percent of investors actually own it , raising the question of whether the most obvious hedge is still the most underlooked .
Speaker 2My guest today is Brandon Thor , ceo of Thor Metals Group . Brandon has built his firm around transparency and education , challenging the gimmicks and the sales tactics that often cloud the gold industry . His mission is to put precious metals back into the conversation for everyday investors , not as a fear trade , but as a path toward real control over wealth . Brandon , thanks so much for being here today . Thank you for having me , melanie . So , brandon , I want to start sort of broad . You for having me , melanie . So , brandon , I want to start sort of broad . What's the number one insight you believe governments or the financial system would rather everyday people not know about money , wealth or about investing ?
Speaker 1Sure , you know , I think , that the number one insight is the concept of sovereignty . You know you hear a lot of whispers with . You know have nothing and like it . And you know all these different political plans where you know they're designed to keep us enslaved to our jobs and in debt . But you know , I think , that what really they want to prevent you from understanding is assets like physical gold . You know , assets that actually allow you to achieve true sovereignty , allow you to eliminate true counterparty risk and allow you to actually retain , you know , your real wealth , which is the standard of living in which you can actually acquire with . You know , with your currency .
Speaker 2So , brandon , do you think Wall Street and the financial system actively discourage gold ownership , and so what's behind that resistance ?
Speaker 1Oh , absolutely . I mean , I've been doing this for over a decade and whenever a client or a prospect says you know this sounds great , I'm just going to talk to my financial advisor . I always have to give them the same thing . You know , because I never once ran into a financial advisor that has recommended gold . And here's the reason . The reason is is simply because physical gold and physical precious metals you cannot make the same . You know fees and it doesn't fit the same revenue generation model that Wall Street and the banking system needs .
Speaker 1Okay , because , think about it , if you own physical gold , then that is an alternative to having dollars in a bank . Now , if you have dollars in a bank , then they can , you know , lend them out and , you know , generate those types of returns . If you have , you know , money with a financial advisor , then they're , you know , buying stocks , selling stocks , they have an AUM fee and that's continuous . If you own physical gold , it's a lot harder to justify , you know , like a gold babysitting fee or something . So you know , you have these revenue models of these multi-trillion dollar industries that just don't fit with the ownership of physical gold . So , consequently , you have a system that really discourages the investment .
Speaker 2Yeah , and Brandon , you've described gold as the investment hiding in plain sight . Why do you think fewer than 1% of investors actually hold physical metals today ?
Speaker 1So think about it . You know you have something that has been around since the Bible , right ? It's always had value . You know , if you talk to anybody that's been in a relationship or a marriage , they don't blink twice when they go to buy a necklace or earrings for their spouse or their girlfriend or significant other , but yet less than half a percent invest in physical gold . So what's the disconnect ?
Speaker 1Well , like I just alluded to earlier , you have two multi-trillion
The Investment Hiding in Plain Sight
Speaker 1dollar industries that do not want you invested in this asset , and you have the most powerful government on earth that don't want you invested in gold Because , think about it , the US dollar those are loans backed by the government , right , it's a $37 trillion debtor that you are basically storing your wealth in IOUs backed by them . Now , they would much rather you have your wealth stored in them , as they can just print with reckless abandon and continue to amass debt , than pivot to something like physical gold . So when you have two multi-trillion dollar industries and you have the most powerful government on earth all not wanting to invest in something , then you're going to have a situation like what we have now , where you have something that everybody knows is valuable , everybody knows is never going to go to zero or go bankrupt . It's been around since the advent of mankind , but yet less than half a percent of people are invested in it .
Speaker 2Yeah , and one of the reasons , I think , is that gold , the gold industry , often draws criticism . A gimmicks , inflated markups , proprietary coins , what do you see as broken in the industry , and how is Thorough Metals standing apart ?
Speaker 1Sure , I mean that's a great question and I'm glad you raised it and I've had to be careful since I started this firm and how I navigate that exact question , because I started this firm as a direct response to that question . So , basically , this is a purpose-driven business we were formed after I was a broker for a number of years and just got fed up with the predatory tactics and and you know what I felt was the exploitive nature of the industry . Because when you have something that is actively suppressed , right , and people actively you know the powers that be actively do not want
Combating Predatory Gold Industry Practices
Speaker 1the consumer or the investor educated on , then it , it you know the powers that be actively do not want the consumer or the investor educated on , then it , you know , presents a fertile breeding ground for predatory business practices , right . So that's what I saw occurring more and more and what I formed , you know , thor Metals Group to actually combat . And so here's the deal .
Speaker 1The deal is this because of what I just mentioned , you have an unregulated industry and I feel it will never be regulated .
Speaker 1I feel that it's not in anybody's interest to regulate it , because , think about it , if you regulate gold or you regulate precious metals , you make people feel safer in it , you feel like they feel protected , they feel like there's something that's going to defend them .
Speaker 1But if you keep it unregulated , it's it's not exactly in the worst interest of the banking system or Wall Street or even the government . So , you know , I , what I saw is is that my industry was taking advantage of that and it was taking advantage of the lack of education or the lack of access to proper education , and and exploiting that . But you know , with the proper education and just the proper transparency , not only is physical gold the probably the easiest investment to wrap your head around , it's also the easiest investment to be confident that you're getting a fair shake in . And it's only without that proper education , that proper transparency , that , uh , you know , these horror stories occur . And so my firm was formed to literally , you know , fill that gap to combat those horror stories into , you know , to , I guess , self-correcting industry that is in need of correcting .
Speaker 2So how do you compare this then ? I mean , you hear the exact same things about the crypto space and some might say and with my experience that I have working around the mining industry in journalism , you would expect that many of the sort of gold bugs are older maybe than you are . What's the comparison and how are you navigating that within what people might think you would usually be into the crypto , for example , Sure ?
Speaker 1You know , I think I can sum up the crypto argument and if you're choosing , you know , between crypto and gold , for the reasons why you should be buying gold with just a simple statement , which is you know , jesus wasn't betrayed by 30 Bitcoin , right that there's been one asset that has just been always that eternal measuring stick of value , and then you have another asset that has a very sparse track record and has been really marketed as the new gold , digital gold , the new evolution of gold . But let's
Gold vs Crypto: Fundamental Differences
Speaker 1dig in and see what it has in common with gold . Gold is something that is protective and it's something that's acquired to preserve . Crypto , at least you know , unless someone disagrees with me is acquired to gain , you know , to profit , to hit on the next meme coin , you know . So it's a very aggressive investment . Gold has not had a , you know , a dip of over 12 percent in , you know God , 10 , 15 years . I mean it's slow and steady , wins the race . It's very consistent . Crypto , I mean shoot , bitcoin went up and down like 65% , you know , less than a year , so you see it very volatile versus , you know , a very consistent .
Speaker 1And then we just touched on track record . You know crypto has been around for what a decade . And gold's been around since , you know , jesus was walking the earth . So we're talking 5,000 years versus , you know , 10 or 12 . So , you know , you have a lot more consistency of track record .
Speaker 1But it's been pushed on people as the new gold and sold in that way just simply because it can't be printed . You know , because gold has a , you know , pretty much a finite supply , and same with crypto . But other than that , that's where the similarities start and stop . You know , and and people are starting to find out as rubber hits the road that , uh , they're not going to run to crypto for safety and that's what you're seeing . You know , I think a lot of people got tricked in 2020 by , uh , you know , the the big push in crypto . That , oh , you know , crypto and gold are side by side . But now that you're seeing , you know , a lot of uncertainty in the world , you're noticing that people are really piling into gold a lot more than crypto and that's why it's hitting all these records .
Speaker 2There is an age disconnect , though , right when younger people are moving towards crypto and older people are still holding gold . What do you think can be done about that , or why do you think that's the case ?
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean , look , you know , I think that the age disconnect you got to look at why it exists , all right , and one of the big reasons is one of the big reasons that exists is you need to have money to invest in gold account , like a Coinbase account , and , you know , buy 10,000 meme coins at one cent or something and hope that it skyrockets or that Elon Musk tweets about it or something . Right , you know , with physical gold at , you know , almost 3,500 an ounce , you need money , you need a significant amount of money and you need money that you don't need liquid . So you know physical gold is best served with funds that you could hold in the investment at least three to five liquid . So you know , physical gold is best served with with funds that you could hold in the investment at least three to five years . So you know , just by the nature of the investment and by the nature of people's financial fortunes , it , just , it , just .
Speaker 1It skews , you know , to an older crowd , people that have saved money , that have that type of funds that are the right fit for gold and unfortunately , as we've seen with the newer generations and the affordability of homes and stuff , it looks like maybe the next generation is going to be about 90 years old before they have money saved . That's appropriate for gold , but that's really where I see it . It's not something where it's just an outdated investment , as much as because it takes money to actually invest in it and because it's very hard to save in this day and age . It just skews older .
Speaker 2That's interesting and I think that you have a good point there . Just to sort of finish up , for anyone considering precious metals for diversification or for financial security or people who are just intrigued by how you're doing it differently at Thor , where's the best place that they can go to connect with you ?
Speaker 1Sure , you're doing it differently at Thor . Where's the best place that they can go to connect with you ? Sure , so you can go to our website , wwwthormetalsgroupcom , or you can call 1-844-944-THOR . Now , if you want to have an appointment directly with me , you can go to wwwbuythorgoldcom and I'm happy to talk to your you know your , your listeners personally , and I'm also happy to offer 2% discount
Connecting with Thor Metals Group
Speaker 1on anything they acquire , and that'll function as you know . You acquire 100,000 in gold . I'll throw in an extra $2,000 in gold and that's limitless . So you know , 500,000 , 10,000 , etc . So that'll be my kind of you know , sweetener for people that have heard me on this program , and that's the best way to get me Fantastic .
Speaker 2Well , brandon , thanks so much for joining me and sharing your insights today , and thanks to everyone for watching . Be sure to like , share and subscribe for more episodes of Lead Like Live Bye .
