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Gold and silver are back in the headlines, and not just in fringe corners of the financial world. In a recent episode of Deep Focus with John Kiriakou, Shanon Davis, founder and CEO of American Alternative Assets, explained why the current surge in precious metals reflects something deeper than short-term market volatility.
According to Davis, this moment is not about fear of an imminent recession. Instead, it is driven by a growing loss of confidence in the direction of the US economy relative to the rest of the world.
Trade uncertainty, rising debt, aggressive use of sanctions, and questions surrounding the long-term role of the US dollar are pushing both institutions and individuals to seek stability outside traditional paper assets.
During the wide-ranging conversation, Davis and Kiriakou challenge common misconceptions about gold ownership, explore the accelerating shift toward de-dollarization and BRICS-aligned trade, and explain why physical metals are increasingly viewed as financial protection rather than speculation.
For retirement savers trying to navigate political risk and global realignment, the discussion offers a sober case for diversification grounded in history, not hype.
Watch the Full Deep Focus Interview on YouTube:
For viewers who prefer long-form discussion, the full conversation is worth watching. Davis walks through the macro forces driving precious metals, addresses common objections head-on, and explains how physical gold and silver are being used today by both institutions and individual retirement savers.
For those who prefer to read, here are the key takeaways from the discussion.
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Key Takeaways from the Conversation
This is not a recession trade.
It's a confidence trade... One of Davis’s central points is that today’s metals rally is not being driven by a traditional recession cycle. The US economy is not officially in recession, but confidence in long-term economic direction is eroding.
Americans, he argues, are struggling to understand where the US fits in a rapidly shifting global economy. That uncertainty is pushing capital toward assets that exist outside policy decisions, election cycles, and central bank credibility.
Gold and silver, in this framework, are not bets on collapse. They are hedges against uncertainty.
Gold is not supposed to generate income. That's the point.
Davis directly addresses one of the most common criticisms of precious metals: they do not pay interest or dividends.
His response is blunt. Yield only matters if the system paying that yield remains stable. Gold and silver are not designed to replace stocks, bonds, or dividend-paying assets. They are designed to sit beside them as a form of insurance.
In periods of financial stress, assets built for income can struggle to preserve purchasing power. Metals are positioned to do the opposite.
“You can’t eat gold” misses the real function of money.
Another audience objection Davis tackles is the idea that gold is useless in a real crisis because it is not consumable.
He argues that this misunderstands the role of money altogether. You cannot eat stocks, bonds, or dollar bills either. In severe disruptions, portability, durability, and acceptability matter more than yield or paper claims.
Gold and silver are not substitutes for food or preparedness. They are tools for preserving value and facilitating exchange when confidence in fiat systems breaks down.
Owning gold is not betting against America.
Davis pushes back strongly against the notion that buying gold is an anti-American act.
Central banks, including the United States, hold gold for the same reasons individuals do. It is a neutral asset that does not depend on who is in office, what policies are passed, or how debt is managed.
Gold is not political. It does not default, vote, or get revised. It simply exists outside the system, which is precisely why institutions continue to accumulate it.
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De-dollarization is Real
A major portion of the discussion focuses on the accelerating move away from the US dollar in global trade.
Davis and Kiriakou point to sanctions, alternative payment networks, and non-dollar settlement agreements as evidence that countries are actively reducing reliance on US-controlled financial rails. This shift is not about the dollar collapsing overnight, but about long-term positioning.
As more trade occurs outside the dollar, confidence in fiat systems weakens at the margins. Gold becomes more attractive precisely because it does not rely on any one country’s monetary policy.
Commodities are in a structural bull market.
Despite the recent pullback, Davis frames the current environment as a broader commodities bull market, not just a gold story.
A key constraint, he argues, is not mining supply but refining capacity. The United States lacks the infrastructure to refine many critical metals at scale, while other countries have spent decades building that capability.
Silver receives particular emphasis due to its industrial and strategic uses across electronics, energy, and defense. When demand rises and supply is constrained, price pressure becomes structural rather than speculative.
Liquidity matters, and physical metals are not illiquid.
Addressing a practical concern, Davis explains that physical metals can be sold through multiple channels when liquidity is needed.
Local coin dealers, national buyers, online marketplaces, and buyback programs all provide exit paths. The key, he stresses, is understanding spreads, documentation, and buyback terms before purchasing.
Physical ownership does not mean locking money away permanently. It means owning an asset with multiple avenues for conversion back into cash.
Physical metals are fundamentally different from paper exposure.
The conversation draws a clear line between owning physical metals and holding mining stocks or metals-linked funds.
Paper exposure can behave like risk assets, rising and falling with broader markets. Physical metals are positioned as outside the paper system entirely.
This distinction becomes especially important for retirement savers seeking diversification rather than volatility.
History favors tangible assets during monetary transitions.
Shanon Davis and John Kiriakou repeatedly return to history as context. Currencies change. Monetary systems evolve. Empires rise and fall.
What persists across cultures and centuries is the role of gold as a store of value. From Europe to India to the Middle East, physical gold has functioned as portable wealth long after paper currencies disappeared.
The argument is not about fear. It is about pattern recognition.
Shanon Davis' Core Message: Diversification Without Drama.
Davis closes with a simple message. Precious metals are not about going all-in or predicting catastrophe. They are about reducing exposure to single points of failure.
A measured allocation, combined with education and clear expectations, allows individuals to protect purchasing power without abandoning growth assets. In an era defined by political risk, debt expansion, and global realignment, that balance is increasingly appealing.
