Gold Standard Isn't Unbeatable, Investors Warned.

Silver grows in value more quickly than gold and therefore offers better value for investors, analysts at Skipton have advised.

The building society said yesterday that, since 1988, the price of the precious metal has risen by 128 percent. This outpaces growth in gold, which stands at just 87 percent over the past two decades.

Skipton released its research in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, the opening ceremony of which is less than two weeks away. Accordingly, the society has also measured increases in value for gold and silver medals awarded in 1988 - when the games were held in Seoul, South Korea.

The firm found that these 580 gold medals - which weighed in at 146 grams each and contained 92.5 percent pure gold - were worth a collective £512,500 20 years ago. Today, however, they are worth £956,700.

For silver, the 570 Seoul medals were worth £7,470 at the time; a figure which has now grown to over £17,000.

Steve Aldous, general manager of sales and marketing at Skipton, claimed that these disparities held valuable lessons for investors. "Of course the medals themselves have a much higher value than just the precious metals they are made of, but it is interesting to note that silver has outperformed gold on price," he said.

"It's said that 'all that glitters is not gold', and in this case it is certainly true. With any investment, whether it is a stock, commodity or even a high street savings account, just because it says ' gold' it does not mean it will give you winning returns."