re: Can someone explain the pros and cons of gold?

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Pros would be diversification, serving as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty given that its purchasing power tends to hold up over time (e.g. high inflation or market downturns). Cons: lower returns and can lose value more frequently than stocks in ordinary economic conditions.

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All of this. I believe most like it as a hedge against inflation and alternative to holding cash.

Think of it this way- if you have a dollar bill, and a dollar worth of gold, your dollar bill will never be anything more than a dollar bill (and will ultimately be devalued due to inflation). However, the value of your gold will increase along with inflation.

Personally, id rather be in the market, but it's an interesting diversification play.