Real asset investments (e.g. real estate, commodities, and gold) registered across the board gains in September. By far, the most profitable real asset investment over the past five years has been gold, which has appreciated 19.2% per annum.

Gold is viewed by many as an alternate currency - one that is not subject to government-sponsored devaluation. One of the most important influences on the price of gold is the level of real interest rates, which can be derived by subtracting the expected inflation rate from the official short term lending rate. In the U.S., the official short-term lending rate is 0% to 0.25%. Inflation expectations looking out over the next five years are approximately 1.5%, so the "real" short term interest rate is negative 1.25 to 1.5%.