Why Did Insurer Northwestern Mutual Buys $400 million in Gold?

Gold investing is crossing into the mainstream.
The latest:
Northwestern Mutual, the third-largest U.S. life insurer by 2008 sales, bought gold for the first time in the company’s 152-year history…”Gold just seems to make sense; it’s a store of value,” said CEO Edward Zore. “In the Depression, gold did very, very well.” The insurer bought around $400 million in gold, and Zore believes that position could quintuple if the economy continues to weaken. “The downside risk is limited, but the upside is large,” Zore said. “We have stocks in our portfolio that lost 95%.” Gold “is not going down to $90.”

Full Story