(Comments provided over the phone)

"Gold is a classic inflation hedge, but most hedges work best in the short term. Over the long term, gold has tracked inflation, but even government bonds have performed better historically," Asher Rogovy, chief investment officer at long-term investment adviser Magnifina, told S&P Global Commodity Insights. "Many people overlook stocks as an inflation hedge. I'm guessing this is because stocks react negatively to the Fed's classic response to inflation."

Stocks' performance against inflation is so well known that it is a recurring question on several financial industry exams, Rogovy said. For either gold or stocks, by the time inflation is flowing into the data, it is often too late to hedge, he said.

"It comes down to timing," Rogovy said. "The Fed reacts after inflation shows up in the data, but over this period of time, stock prices tend to increase along with inflation."

Rogovy does see a case for gold, even if it loses ground against other investments in some scenarios.

"Gold does carry a significant advantage over stocks in that it hedges against stagflation," Rogovy said. "A stagnant economy is no good for stocks, so it reduces the opportunity cost of holding gold. Stagflation may arise from cost-push inflation, where there is a surplus of money chasing a deficit of resources."