Sarah Benali  

Monday May 08, 2017 20:10

(Kitco News) - One commodity, which stood out at last year's Sohn Investment Conference, apparently lost its appeal in 2017.

The annual event, which aims to raise money for pediatric cancer, brought together Wall Street heavyweights David Einhorn, Jeff Gundlach and Bill Ackman, who all shared their top investment picks, none of which included gold. 

Last year, famed investor Stanley Druckenmiller recommended investors sell stocks and buy gold, noting that the Federal Reserve’s dovish policies created “recklessness at the government and corporate level.” 

However, at this year’s event, Druckenmiller told the crowd, “last year, I thought you should get out of equities and buy gold. That’s why I’m introducing today and not presenting.” 

Instead, DoubleLine Capital’s founder Gundlach said his firm is looking at emerging markets right now. He said investors are shying away from emerging markets because they expect the U.S. dollar to move higher in a tightening monetary policy cycle in the U.S. However, he expects otherwise. 

“It’s just not correct to say a tightening Fed necessarily means a higher dollar,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Greenlight Capital’s Einhorn focused his attention on crude oil, making the case against the commodity. Alluding to some experts calling for a “V-shaped bottom” in the oil market, Einhorn said that might not be the case. 

“We don’t see any such thing,” he said. 

Pershing Square’s Ackman did focus his presentation on a hard asset, although it wasn’t gold. Instead, he honed in on real estate, talking up the company he is chairman for, Howard Hughes Company. 

Gold prices settled near seven-week lows Monday. Spot gold on Kitco.com last traded up $2.20 an ounce at $1,228.20.