Investopedia: The Haunted Houses Investors Won't Enter

Depending upon your point of view, the financial markets offer either an endless variety of ways to make money or lose money. No one can follow everything, and the wise investor does not even try. So while many savvy investors have decided that they do not have the time, interest, or skills to approach certain areas of the market, others base those decisions on fear. So afraid are some investors, that they turn entire investment categories into something more like haunted houses than financial instruments. 


Gold
Writing about gold is a little like throwing meat into a hyena cage - good or bad, it's going to produce a ruckus. Few investment options seem to carry the emotional baggage of gold; its advocates often claim to own nothing else, while it detractors spare no scorn for it.

Why should investors fear gold? For starters, it produces no income. A gold mining operator like Newmont (NYSE:NEM) may pay a dividend, but gold bullion and gold ETFs like SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) do not. While that may be a concern for investors who derive all of their income from their investment portfolios, gold is hardly unique in not paying dividends.


Read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/The-Haunted-Houses-Investors-Wont-Enter--GLD-NEM-BRK-A-MSFT-AMGN-RIG-PBR1028.aspx