One option is to invest in equities through a fund such as Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF ( VTI ). During the past 10 years, the S&P 500 has lost 8% while gold is up 350%; that trend is clearly not sustainable, particularly when commodities do not generate profit growth or create innovation and their prices tend to be mean reverting. Foreign currency exposure could also be obtained through iShares MSCI EAFE Index ( EFA ), although this would entail the same problem of a lack of a strong relationship between inflation and equity returns mentioned above.