Money Life with Chuck Jaffe · Oct 15, 2026
With Lynette Zang, CEO of Zang International
Lynette Zang, CEO of Zang International, told Chuck Jaffe on the Money Life with Chuck Jaffe podcast that in 2009 she counted 62,000 digital ounces of gold claims for every physical ounce in existence.
Gold is down about 5% this year and more than 20% from its late-January peak while inflation runs hot, which Chuck put to her as a failed hedge. Lynette's answer is that the falling price belongs to the paper trade, and the physical metal is the hedge.
"Both gold and silver have provided the maintenance of the value of your labor, which is the single most important function of money, and it's done that for thousands of years, even inside of this environment." — Lynette Zang
Lynette started as a stockbroker at Shearson in 1987. She did her paper-gold count during research at the Bank for International Settlements, and her firm now sizes clients' physical gold and silver against their cost of living.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 10 arguments that matter.
Key Takeaways
Gold's falling price is the trade, not the hedge, in Lynette's view
Physical gold and silver have preserved the value of labor through this year too
Paper claims on gold far outnumber the metal
"There were 62,000 digital ounces of gold" for each physical ounce in 2009
Lynette holds no gold ETFs, because an ETF holder owns shares of a trust, not metal
The Fed's 2% target devalues the dollar slowly enough that people borrow rather than cut spending
"There is less than three cents left" of the 1913 dollar
New digital payment systems are permission-based, so users never hold the asset outright
Lynette owns no stocks or bonds, and weights her own assets toward food, water, energy, silver and gold
1. The Price Is a Trade
Chuck Jaffe, who hosts Money Life, opened on the gap between gold's falling price and hot inflation. Lynette split gold into two markets: the spot and futures contracts that traders buy, and the physical metal people hold.
Lynette Zang says physical gold and silver have fully done their job as a hedge
"If you're talking about a true hedge, then one hundred percent both gold and silver physical have performed that function quite well." — Lynette Zang
The price that fell this year is the trade. In her account, the money that pushed it higher earlier came from central banks and corporations.
"All of this money printing that the central banks and the corporations have created, they have to go someplace, and they are in the stock and the spot markets." — Lynette Zang
