"Only buy, not sell"! "Hong Kong Buffett" invests a quarter of his wealth in gold

Known as the "Hong Kong Buffett," Asia's representative of value investing, Xie Qinghai has allocated a quarter of his personal wealth to gold, a proportion that far exceeds that of similar investors, and adheres to a "buy and hold" strategy.

The 71-year-old founder of Value Partners manages approximately $1.4 billion in family office assets, with precious metals accounting for about 25%, while the 2025 UBS Global Family Office Report shows that the average allocation to gold and precious metals is only 2%.

According to a report by Bloomberg on the 19th, insiders revealed that Xie Qinghai began making small investments in precious metals in 2008 and made significant purchases of physical gold ETFs ten years later, with these investments yielding a cumulative profit of $251.1 million, an increase of 167%. In an interview with Bloomberg News, he stated, he views precious metals as part of his lifelong savings, does not trade, nor does he use derivatives or structured products, and never borrows money to invest.

Xie Qinghai advises investors to build a portfolio of "60% stocks, 20% bonds, and 20% precious metals (mainly gold)." He believes that geopolitical tensions—including the Venezuela and Ukraine conflicts and other geopolitical risks—are creating increasing support for gold and silver.

Entering 2026, metals such as gold, silver, copper, and tin have all reached historical highs, driven by expectations of easing policies from the Federal Reserve, political pressure from the Trump administration, and geopolitical tensions. Xie Qinghai stated that the global situation has fully validated his bets.

From Value Investing to Precious Metal Allocation

Xie Qinghai is a Malaysian former financial journalist who co-founded Value Partners in 1993, making it the first asset management company listed in Hong Kong. The company peaked in 2017, managing assets of $17 billion. He currently serves as a board member of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and is the chairman of the investment committee.

For thirty years, Xie Qinghai has been one of the representatives of value investing in Asia, transforming Value Partners into a stock-picking giant managing billions of dollars in assets. Now, he has invested a significant portion of his personal wealth in gold and advises others to do the same.

According to insiders, Xie Qinghai's investment in precious metals began with small bets in 2008, and he started making large-scale purchases of physical gold ETFs ten years later. In addition to ETFs, he has also invested in gold mining stocks, physical gold bars, and coins. As of January 12, 2026, his precious metal holdings are concentrated in highly liquid physical instruments, including Value Gold ETF (HKD 1.297 billion), SPDR Gold Shares (HKD 985 million), and iShares Silver Trust (HKD 287 million).

Xie Qinghai's investment record is not without flaws. In the last few years at Value Partners, the scale of assets under management sharply declined—falling to a low of $5.1 billion in 2024—and the deal with HNA Group in 2017 also fell through. After Guangfa Securities invested in the company, he eventually stepped down from the chairman position, a transition period filled with reports of cultural conflicts and executive friction

Optimistic About Silver and Precious Metals Outlook

Xie Qinghai's seed capital for bulk gold purchases comes from an operation in 2015. At that time, he reduced his holdings in Value Partners Group before a major market adjustment. After starting to buy gold in 2008, he became dissatisfied with Western vaults and launched the Value Gold ETF in 2010, storing physical gold at Hong Kong Airport. According to informed sources, he remains the largest shareholder of the fund, with holdings valued at HKD 1.3 billion (USD 167 million).

Xie Qinghai stated that after the freezing of Russian assets in 2022 and the recent tensions in Venezuela and Iran, the world is entering a large-scale "vault migration" period. Wealthy families in Asia are increasingly moving funds back to the region to avoid U.S. sanctions or potential asset seizures. He believes that a good way to store this wealth is through gold.

"If you have physical gold in a warehouse or bank safe, no one owes you anything," he said. His holdings are backed by gold stored in government warehouses at Hong Kong Airport. "For Asian investors, buying physical gold is much better than paper gold."

Xie Qinghai is also optimistic about silver, which has roughly doubled in price over the past year, far outpacing gold. At the beginning of this year, metals including gold, silver, copper, and tin reached historical highs, driven by expectations of easing policies from the Federal Reserve, political pressure from the Trump administration, and geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, some Asian family offices, such as Cavendish Investment Corp., are bypassing intermediaries to trade physical gold directly, allocating a significant portion of their portfolios to the metal.

Xie Qinghai is confident in his precious metals investment strategy. "I am a very patient investor—I do not trade after buying precious metals and consider them part of my lifelong savings," he said. "Ultimately, the scale of this asset becomes larger and larger."

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