Gold Price Disconnect: Physical Demand vs. Paper Markets
At the Rule Symposium in Boca Raton, Florida, Nolan Watson, President & CEO of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND) (TSX: SSL), shared insights on his company’s remarkable journey from startup to a $1.6 billion market cap royalty and streaming enterprise.
Watson detailed Sandstorm’s business model, which centers on diversified royalties from mines globally, generating substantial cash flow. He highlighted the company’s strategic shift from equity issuance to share buybacks and debt reduction, signaling financial maturity and confidence in future prospects.
Addressing the disconnect between gold prices and gold equities, Watson provided a nuanced perspective on institutional investor behavior:
“If you look over the last 14 months, 12 months in a row was net liquidation by institutional investors of gold out of ETFs and it’s those same institutional investors that have been liquidating gold equities. It’s just in the last two months that institutional investors have become net buyers of gold,” he explained. “So you’ve had the international central banks buying gold, and you’ve had institutional investors selling gold, and that’s been putting downward pressure on all of the gold companies.”
Watson outlined Sandstorm’s current and future revenue streams, spotlighting key projects such as Equinox’s Greenstone mine and Barrick’s Robertson mine. Drawing a parallel with industry giant Franco Nevada, Watson suggested Sandstorm is following a similar growth trajectory, positioning itself to become a major player in the sector.
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