The reason investors are sticking with gold despite easy money ending

Money managers back the asset because they see real yields remaining negative as the US Fed struggles to tighten policy enough to push interest rates above inflation.

The end of an easy-money era should normally spell bad news for gold. But right now, fund managers are keeping their holdings.

At a time when equities and Bitcoin--often touted as digital gold--are sinking as loose monetary policy draws to a close, bullion exchange-traded fund holdings are proving resilient. Despite expectations for multiple U.S. interest-rate hikes this year, bets for real rates to stay negative and demand for an inflation hedge are supporting the appeal of the time-honored haven.

Christoph Schmidt, who heads DWS Group’s 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) Multi Asset Total Return team, is among