Tax-Smart Retirement Planning and the Long-Term Return of Gold

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Business, Investing

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before you start socking away money for retirement, you'll need to pick an account type. But choose wisely— because it'll shape your tax bill today and potentially decades from now. Robert Brokamp discusses how to choose the right account with financial planner and CPA Sean Mullaney, who writes the FITaxGuy blog and is the co-author, along with Cody Garrett, of “Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement.” Also in this episode:-The stock market is broadening, with small caps, value stocks, and international stocks outperforming U.S. large-cap stocks since November-Last week was the anniversary of gold hitting a then-record $850 in 1980, which was followed by a slump that lasted more than two decades-A new study estimates how much of the cost of tariffs has been absorbed by consumers, importers, and retailers-Now is the time to protect the money you’ll need in the next three to five years Host: Robert BrokampGuest: Sean MullaneyEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Choosing the right retirement account and the long-term return of gold.
0:08.7	That and more on this Saturday personal finance edition of Motley Full Money.
0:18.0	I'm Robert Brokamp, and this week I speak with financial planner and CPA Sean Mullaney
0:22.4	about why some investors should favor pre-tax traditional retirement accounts despite all the
0:27.9	benefits of Roth accounts. But first, here are a few items from the news last week. First up,
0:33.0	we turn to the latest weekly asset allocation review from Urien Timmer, director of global macro
0:38.4	at Fidelity Investments, who writes that, quote, at least for now, the U.S. stock market is
0:43.6	rebalancing in one of the best ways possible. The mega cap seemed to be taking a rest while
0:48.6	the rest of the market breaks out. With the bag seven now stuck in a range since November,
0:53.6	the broader market has gone from narrow to
0:55.8	broad, from 32% of stocks trading above their 50-day moving average to now 73%. End of quote.
1:03.2	Indeed, since Halloween, the S&P 500 has returned 0.5%, and the NASDAQ 100 has lost 2%. Meanwhile, small caps, value stocks, and international stocks are up 10%,
1:14.1	7% and 5% respectively, as of this taping on the morning of January 22nd. But Elie's Timber has labeled
1:21.6	this, quote, a bullish broadening. But those returns are nothing compared to what we've seen from
1:26.5	gold, which brings us to
1:27.6	our second news item of the week. The Spider Gold Shares ETF, ticker GLD, was up 64% last year and is up
1:34.7	12% so far this year. This past week was the anniversary of gold hitting a then record price of
1:40.8	$850 in 1980, which was then followed by a slump that lasted more than two decades.
1:47.3	If you had bought at the 1980 peak and held to today's price of $4,800, your average annualized
1:53.7	return would be less than 4%. Meanwhile, if you invested $850 in the S&B 500 back in 1980 and held to today, you would have earned
2:03.1	a total average annualized return of 12%, and your investment would have been worth more than
2:08.7	$161,000, according to the S&P 500 calculator on the of dollars and data blog. And now, the number of the week, which is 96%. That's how much of
	...

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