The DJIA / GOLD ratio is a measure of how many ounces of gold it takes to buy the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This ratio has varied over the past 114 years (1896 to 2010) from a ratio of 1:1 (in 1896 and 1980) to a ratio of 44:1 (in 1999).
Generally, in secular bull markets, financial assets like stocks, mutual funds and ETFs are the investments of choice. Gold pays no dividend, must be stored, and is difficult to leverage. So the DJIA / GOLD ratio rises, sometimes dramatically. In secular bear markets, however, when financial assets fall out of favor, gold typically rises in value, and the DJIA / GOLD ratio falls.
DJIA / GOLD RATIO
Wikipedia: Gold as an investment
