Goldman Sachs (GS) Poll Finds Institutional Investors Expect Gold’s Price to Hit $5,000

A new poll by investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) has found that many institutional investors expect the price of gold to top $5,000 an ounce by the end of 2026.

The poll arrives as gold posts its fourth consecutive month of gains. So far in 2025, gold’s price has rallied 58.6% and broken above the $4,000 per ounce level for the first time on Oct. 8. Despite the big rally, many institutional investors see more gains ahead for the precious metal.

In a survey of more than 900 institutional investors, 36% of respondents — the largest cohort — expect gold to maintain its momentum and rise above $5,000 an ounce by the end of 2026. Another 33% expect gold’s price to be somewhere between $4,500 and $5,000 an ounce in a year’s time.

Gold Bugs

Regardless of where the price ultimately ends up, more than 70% of institutional investors see gold’s price rising next year, said Goldman Sachs in a written statement announcing the survey results. In contrast, only about 5% of institutions polled see gold’s price pulling back to between $3,500 and $4,000 over the next 12 months.

After a shaky start to November, gold’s price has steadily risen over the past two weeks as hopes rise that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower interest rates a further 25 basis points at the conclusion of its Dec. 10 policy meeting.

In the survey, 38% of respondents agreed that central bank buying of gold has been the main driver of the price rise this year, while 27% said the precious metal has been driven higher by fiscal concerns.

Is the SPDR Gold Shares ETF a Buy?

Most Wall Street analysts don’t offer ratings or price targets on the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD). So instead we’ll look at the exchange-traded fund’s year-to-date performance. As one can see in the chart below, the GLD ETF is up 58% on the year.