Voima Weekly #56 – Positioning Begins with a Clear Picture of Where We Stand

The route takes shape as we move.

Positioning in an uncertain time or situation begins with seeing where we are.

Last week, my pastor asked me to encourage entrepreneurs and people in the workforce. I gave a talk on positioning and getting started. As I prepared, I found myself wondering what encouragement really means.

Perhaps someone realizes that they have made a mistake or made a choice whose consequences they did not understand at the time. Perhaps something important was left undone: we did not dare to do it, did not understand its significance, or consciously decided to postpone it. Circumstances or other people’s decisions may also have contributed to a difficult situation. Often, several things are at play at once.

Encouragement does not require a promise that everything will work out immediately. It can mean looking honestly at what happened, recognizing our own responsibility and what was beyond our control, and figuring out what can still be done. We cannot get the past back, but we can still choose how to act in the present.

During Voima’s nearly ten-year journey, I have made countless mistakes. They have cost me sleep, but many others have also had to bear their consequences. A company is built amid changing conditions. Growth or its absence, market conditions, and timing affect who is hired, what expertise we invest in, what kinds of IT systems we build and in what order, what investments we make, where we allocate capital, and what we leave undone for now. These are not just rows in a spreadsheet. They affect people’s work and responsibilities, as well as how well the company can operate and respond to changes in its environment.

I do not take the existence of Voima’s companies for granted. Our journey has included mistakes and loss-making years, but we have continued to build. The fact that Voima’s companies still exist, serve thousands of customers, employ people, and run a fairly extensive infrastructure for precious-metals trading, processing, and storage feels like a small miracle to me.

Positioning means taking an honest picture of the situation: what is true, what we are aiming for, and what is most important to clarify. The same approach can be used at home, in the family, in a company, in our personal finances, in institutional portfolio management, and in assessing an entire economy. Who or what are we responsible for? What have we promised? When things feel tangled, the first task may not be to draw up a grand plan. It may be enough to name one fact and take care of one unfinished matter.

In wealth management, the time horizon adds another dimension: today’s market price and slower changes in the money supply, debt, and central-bank reserves can move at different paces.

According to Voima Total Money Index’s August 2026 calculation, global broad money stood at approximately $157.4 trillion. According to the index, it had grown by 5.6 percent over the year on an FX-neutral basis and by 77.7 percent over ten years. VTMI does not forecast the price movements of gold or other assets. It describes the long-term backdrop: the world’s money supply has grown, and governments continue to accumulate debt. These developments keep the long-term question of money’s purchasing power in view, but they do not explain any single day’s price movement. A growing money supply does not eliminate market volatility: changes in interest-rate expectations, liquidity, and investor positions can move prices quickly.

On October 30, the price of gold fell by about 3.5 percent during the day. At the closing price, it stood at approximately €111.65 per gram ($3,878 per troy ounce), about six percent lower year to date and about 23 percent below its March peak.¹

Gold was weighed down by interest-rate expectations strengthened by rising oil prices and persistent U.S. inflation figures. At the same time, technology stocks were sold as investors’ doubts about the returns on large AI investments grew. When the need for cash increases or investors have to meet margin requirements, gold can also be sold quickly. This is how a metal regarded as a safe haven can fall alongside equities.²

I remember a Friday during the COVID period when our trading partners sold through their inventories at a record pace. At the same time, the price screen showed gold down about five percent. Demand for physical metal and the day’s market price seemed to be moving in opposite directions. That memory illustrates the difference, but does not by itself predict the next price move.

Gold price formation also takes place in OTC and futures markets, where price risk can be transferred without the immediate physical delivery of a bar. As a result, the day’s price can react quickly to liquidity needs, even when demand for physical metal is strong. This does not mean that all gold trading is paper or lacks metal behind it. Over the long term, deliveries, availability, and premiums connect these markets to one another.³

Central-bank purchases also reflect long-term demand. In August, central banks added a net 39 tonnes of gold, with China the largest buyer that month.⁴

These are not two contradictory pictures, but two different time horizons. Interest-rate expectations, liquidity needs, and the unwinding of investor positions can move prices quickly. Debt, money-supply growth, and central-bank reserve decisions change more slowly. Long-term factors do not erase a day’s price decline, but that decline alone does not determine gold’s long-term role.

I argue that gold is the bedrock of wealth management and the best money for a long-term saver. It is not a liability of a government or a company, and its supply grows slowly relative to the money supply. This does not guarantee a stable price or a steady rise. It explains why gold has a place in long-term wealth management.

A clear picture of the situation does not promise that results will be visible immediately. It helps us see what can still be corrected, what is worth continuing, and what we can now do. Even if the past includes mistakes, things left undone, or years that feel wasted, they do not define today. A new direction can begin with a small act, and the fruit of good work may only become visible over time.

Today is a good day to begin.

–Marko Viinikka
Founder, CEO
Voima Gold Oy

Disclaimer: Voima Weeklies are the personal writings of the undersigned. They do not necessarily represent the official view of Voima Gold Oy or any other company, nor do they constitute investment advice or a recommendation to purchase securities.