As good as... Should investors rely on gold to protect portfolios during market dips?

Gold has been on a strong run this year, breaking $4,100 per ounce in October. While some investors are trying to catch the rally, others have held the asset as an insurance policy for years. It's easy to see where this logic comes from. Since the gold standard acted as the reserve currency before the US dollar, investors might naturally fall back on it when worries develop about the US. But how good is gold when it actually comes to protecting portfolios in a market dip? In the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, gold wasn't able to make a steady split from equities until over 150 days aft...