Physical gold investors have been taken for quite the ride over the past year. Spot gold prices are up less than 1% on a trailing 12-month basis through May 22nd, but have seen a $237 per ounce variance between their highest and lowest closes over the trailing year.Since 2016 began, physical gold and gold stocks have been pretty solid investments, with physical gold gaining about 19% and numerous gold stocks rising by well over 100%.