Gold has historically been an effective diversifier at certain times, such as when the monetary system broke down amid excessive money printing.

Test: whether gold has, in at least some historical periods, been an effective diversifier, meaning it held or gained value or had low or negative correlation while conventional assets (stocks, bonds, fiat cash) fell. Periods of monetary breakdown or heavy money printing are relevant examples, such as the 1930s, the 1971 end of Bretton Woods and the 1970s. True: historical return or correlation data show gold doing this in identifiable periods such as those. Mostly true: gold diversified in some such periods, but the example of monetary breakdown is weakly supported. Mixed or mostly false: gold's diversifying role appears only rarely or ambiguously. False: the data show gold moved with the losing assets in such periods and was never an effective diversifier.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Gold Investor: Risk management and capital preservation World Gold Council (filed with SEC under Rule 433) · 31 July 2013

   “The correlation between gold and global equities in a moderate real rate environment is close to zero, which forms part of the basis for gold’s diversification properties.”

2. E2 Gold Investor: Risk management and capital preservation World Gold Council (filed with SEC under Rule 433) · 31 July 2013

   “Gold fell during the mid and late 1980s (2nd and 4th boxes in the chart), but showed resilience in the early part of the decade and even rose during the 1985 to 1987 period.”

3. E3 Gold Investor: Risk management and capital preservation World Gold Council (filed with SEC under Rule 433) · 31 July 2013

   “falling equities often lead to a negative correlation with gold, whereas rising equities are often associated with a zero or slightly positive correlation.”

4. E4 Gold Investor: Risk management and capital preservation World Gold Council (filed with SEC under Rule 433) · 31 July 2013

   “While it is true that a high real rate environment has not been friendly to gold on average, the underlying data is mixed and obscured by movements in other driving factors, such as the US dollar.”

The World Gold Council report says gold's correlation with global equities is close to zero in moderate real-rate environments [E1]. It also says gold's correlation tends to turn negative when equities fall [E3], which supports gold acting as a diversifier at certain times. The same report notes that gold's record is mixed in high real-rate environments [E2, E4]. None of the evidence covers the 1930s, the end of Bretton Woods or the 1970s, so the monetary-breakdown example is only weakly supported. That fits the "mostly true" criterion.