During the final days of July, Gold hit new all-time highs just below $2,000. The record run higher for the precious yellow metal, and for most of the precious metals has been in large part caused by the worldwide pandemic. As investors become nervous about the future, many find safe harbor in gold and other hard asset metals.
The bull market will likely continue as long as the pandemic and world economies struggle to gain traction. But, if we see a vaccine that protects against Covid-19, the price of gold will likely begin to fall as investors move back away from safe investments and back into equities, bonds, and other higher-risk – higher growth investments. When the rally ends, well, that’s, of course, the trillion-dollar question and one that I can’t help with. However, I can point you in the right direction of what to invest in regardless of which way you think the price is headed.
The big dog in the gold Exchange Traded Fund world is the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). GLD has over $77 billion in assets under management and has been in existence since 2004. The fund charges a 0.4% expense ratio and has an average daily dollar amount volume of just over $1.76 billion, meaning it typically has liquidity. GLD tracks the gold spot price using gold bars held in vaults in London. This is an excellent option for anyone who wants the protection of gold but doesn’t want the hassle of buying actual gold bars.
The only big downside to GLD is that one share will cost you roughly $185. But there is a solution to that problem, and it’s called the SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM). GLDM is essentially the same thing as GLD, but it holds 1/10th as much gold per share as GLD, and therefore each share costs less. As of this writing, GLD is $184.98 per share, while GLDM is $19.61 per share. GLDM tracks the spot price of gold the same as GLD, but it also has a lower expense ratio of just 0.18%. It also has much fewer assets under management of just $3.22 billion and therefore is less liquid for large orders. But again, if you want to place a large order, go with GLD. GLDM is designed for the small retail investor, not the large funds that need exposure to gold. Continue reading "Gold ETFs Setting New Highs"
