Gold was once the go-to for conservative investors hedging against inflation or geopolitical risk. Now, it’s making inroads with a much younger crowd.

For Australia’s Gen Z — those roughly between 18 and 30 — gold isn’t just a relic of the past. It’s becoming part of their wealth-building strategy. From micro-investing apps to monthly bullion savings plans, younger Australians are increasingly turning to gold as a way to grow and protect capital in an economy where traditional pathways to wealth feel increasingly out of reach.

The question is: why now? We put that to ABC Bullion Australia's General Manager, Jordan Eliseo on this week's episode of Switzer Investing TV to find out why.

Watch the interview:

Being young is now more expensive than ever in Australia

Many will have heard the cries of younger Australians who are struggling to into housing, invest and grow a family. Whether you think they're just having a whinge or not, the data does kind of bear them out. As explained by The Gruen Transfer's Russell Howcroft:

It's a fact that, when I was 30, the house cost me three times my salary. Now, [it's] eight times plus for a 30-year old...to get into the housing market.

[HECS debts have ] doubled from a $15,000 bill to a $30,000 bill.

[And] it's true that a baby boomer paid half the tax that a 30 year old pays now when they were 30 years of age. So the reality is it is extremely difficult to be a 30 year old in Australia right now.

And he's not wrong, either. Millennials and (to a slightly lesser extent) Gen Z are two generations that are going to wind up worse-off than their parents or grandparents were economically at the same stages of life.

Fewer younger Australians can afford homes; many are struggling to find a job (Gen Z unemployment is at 14.3% compared to the national 4.1%); they're unable to save due to the cost of living; their wages are largely stagnant; they're living through some of the most economically and politically unstable times in history, and the list goes on and on. As a result of all this and more, many are delaying their life milestones as a result like having kids, for example, leading to a declining birth rate.

For many younger Australians, the answer to financial independence isn't written in stone like it was for their parents or grandparents. It's something ABC Bullion's Jordan Eliseo has noticed when speaking with newer, younger clients in his business.

“We’re seeing younger investors who feel like property is out of reach. They’re priced out, or they’re unconvinced that it’s worth taking on hundreds of thousands in debt,” says Eliseo told Switzer Investing TV this week.

"Combine that with low interest on savings and growing scepticism toward crypto’s volatility, and gold starts to look like a surprisingly logical move," he added.

Eliseo points to several driving factors: gold’s strong performance over the last 20 years, its accessibility (with entry points "as low as a few hundred dollars"), and the fact that it’s tangible, historically resilient, and globally liquid. And while gold might lack the hype of digital assets like cryptocurrency, it offers something else: “stability without the rollercoaster.”

And it’s not just anecdotal based on Jordan's day-to-day conversations, either. Survey data from ABC Bullion suggests self-managed super fund investors - a typically older, more conservative group - commonly hold between 10% and 25% of their portfolios in gold and silver. Now, younger investors appear to be taking a leaf out of the same book to try and get ahead. After all if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Gold at bull market highs, but is it just a flight to safety?

Gold’s run has been hard to ignore.

Prices in both US and Australian dollars are up more than 40% over the past year. But is this just another reactive rush to safety, or part of a deeper shift?

According to Eliseo, it’s not just about geopolitical anxiety or central bank rate speculation. The bigger picture is what he calls a “25-year structural bull market.”

“If you look at the long-term chart, the trend has been in place since the early 2000s,” he says. “There’s no doubt recent volatility and rate cut expectations have accelerated the move, but this is part of a much longer story.”

He points out that central banks — traditionally among the most cautious of market participants — have significantly increased their gold holdings in recent years. In fact, they now account for roughly 30% of all newly mined gold each year.

Eliseo’s view is clear: the asset class isn’t riding a sugar hit. It’s been building quietly for decades and younger investors are just the latest cohort to start taking it seriously.