Despite the popularity of gold, now might actually be a terrific time to start looking for top-notch shares to buy instead.
The surge in gold prices over the last few years has been driven by a genuine increase in safe-haven asset demand courtesy of all the geopolitical uncertainty. But there’s also a lot of speculation going on. And it’s why gold prices have become quite volatile in recent weeks, falling by double digits.
And it could be on the verge of falling even further.
If the conflicts in Eastern Europe or the Middle East begin de-escalating, that could be the ultimate catalyst that triggers a commodity sell-off as geopolitical risk drops and investors rush to lock-in their multi-year rally profits.
But that money has to go somewhere. And history shows that the stock market is often the most popular destination. That’s why, with plenty of quality FTSE 100 stocks trading at discounted prices today, I think now’s an excellent time to capitalise on bargains in the pursuit of impressive long-term gains. And with the right moves, it could even pave the way for an earlier retirement.
Why FTSE 100 shares?
In recent years, the UK’s flagship index has delivered far more impressive returns compared to other indices. And a big reason why boils down to the type of companies it contains. Beyond being in primarily defensive sectors, the majority of UK large-cap stocks generate revenue from international markets.
This geographic diversification not only helps reduce risk, but also means that the UK’s notoriously weak economy hasn’t held them back. And this structural advantage is a big reason why the FTSE 100 continues to outpace the FTSE 250 even in 2026.
So which companies should investors be looking at today?
A contrarian April pick
Out of all the FTSE 100 stocks that have taken a tumble recently, RELX (LSE:REL) currently stands out as an interesting potential outlier. Despite the share price getting slashed by almost a third over the last 12 months, the business is actually still delivering impressive results.
AI disruption fears resulted in a lot of panic selling in February. Yet the evidence so far suggests quite the opposite’s happening, with the group’s new AI tools not only attracting new customers, but increasing the spend of existing ones.
Obviously, there’s no guarantee this won’t change. Cheap and cheerful third-party AI data analytics tools are improving. And whether RELX can protect its pricing power against fiercer competition remains to be seen.
Yet with the market shooting first and asking questions later, RELX shares are now trading below even the most pessimistic share price forecasts from institutional analysts.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that 16 out of 17 analysts now recommend the stock as Buy or Outperform. And it seems even RELX’s management is following this advice with the unveiling of plans to buy back £2.25bn worth of its own shares in 2026 alone.
With the market pricing RELX as if it has already been disrupted despite evidence to the contrary, the risk-to-reward ratio looks quite favourable, in my eyes. And it could even be one of the best shares to buy right now.
So for investors looking for a discounted growth opportunity, RELX could be worth a closer look.
