As the dust settles on the 2024-25 financial year, two clear winners have emerged from a turbulent market, and it's all coming up gold.

Yep, you guessed it: gold stocks and bullion owners and anyone who invested in Commonwealth Bank (CBA) had many reasons to celebrate in the last financial year. \

According to Jun Bei Liu of Tencap, the gold sector has shone brightly as global uncertainty drove investors toward safe havens. “The other top performing sector, which is not surprisingly, it’s gold companies. Some of the smaller to mid-cap gold has done incredibly well in the middle of all these changes and uncertainties in the market,” Liu told Switzer Investing TV.

For those playing at home, spot gold price started the FY24-25 financial year at an already-robust US$2338 an ounce, and closed out the financial year overnight at a hair over US$3300. That means if you'd have bought $10,000 of gold this time last year, you'd have made a touch over $4150 for the year. Always remember that past performance is no indicator of future results, however.

These staggering figures continue gold's massive decade-long bull run, fuelled by an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment. From trade wars to conflicts in the Middle East, and more recently tariffs imposed on key goods out of China, investors have flocked to gold as a hedge against inflation, uncertainty, and market volatility. Many analysts believe that gold’s strength is just beginning, with central banks across the globe continuing to buy up physical reserves at a record pace.

If you’re thinking about joining the gold party, we have a first-timer’s guide on the site covering everything you need to know, from how to invest in physical bullion to picking gold stocks.

Meanwhile, someone else's gold was maturing nicely too: Commonwealth Bank of Australia has also delivered standout performance.

Says Jun Bei Liu:

“It’s incredible just looking at sort of return this company has delivered". She noted that foreign investors, spooked by US market instability, have shifted funds into safer ground, with CBA at the top of their lists. “Foreign investors have had way too much US market, and they are looking to diversify… their little bit is a lot for a small market like Australia,” Liu added.

CBA closed out the financial year yesterday afternoon just shy of $185 a share. Which is a far cry from the $120 a share it started on 366 days ago.

CBA’s share price has risen steadily to dizzying and record-breaking high after high in recent months, particularly following the so-called Liberation Day in April, when our markets were rocked by Trump's sweeping tariffs. The move sent shockwaves through trade-dependent sectors, but boosted local blue-chip stalwarts like CBA, seen as a relative safe haven by both domestic and global investors.

Stay tuned throughout this new financial year: we’ll be watching where the smart money heads next.