Perhaps no corner of the ETF market has exploded as rapidly as the precious metals space, as the democratization of an asset class previously off limits to many investors has resulted in billions of dollars in cash inflows. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is now the second-largest ETF by total assets, with more than $53 billion under management. Two other physically-backed gold ETFs (IAU and SGOL) have aggregate assets of nearly $5 billion, while a couple of silver funds (SLV and SIVR) hold another $6 billion. Even the relatively young platinum ETF (PPLT, $485 million) and palladium ETF (PALL, $393 million) have been huge hits with investors. In aggregate these seven physically-backed precious metals ETFs represent about 8% of total ETF assets, a remarkable statistic highlighting the amount of interest in this asset class. [click to continue…]
As the American economy continues to tread water, many investors have grown increasingly concerned about a double-dip recession. This has pushed dollars into the bond markets which has caused prices to soar as investors attempt to protect themselves from any future economic storms. However, with yields now approaching record lows, investors have started to rethink [...]
With the housing market cratering, consumer confidence sagging, and catalysts for real economic growth nowhere to be found, many investors have quietly become pessimistic over the outlook for the U.S. economy. And then there’s the camp that has been much more vocal with forecasts of doom and gloom, a group that includes the always entertaining [...]
Despite a relatively solid earnings season, anxiety continues to run high on Wall Street as elevated unemployment and sagging confidence stand as major obstacles to a continued economic recovery. As equity markets trend sideways and potential pitfalls materialize, many investors have moved slowly towards safe havens, preferring to watch from the sidelines until the storm [...]
Over the past few years, the number of ETFs has grown exponentially; the industry now covers nearly every corner of the investable universe. The pace of innovation has been particularly impressive in the commodity space, which has seen interest surge as investors have become increasingly concerned over the health of the global economy and the [...]
With markets trending sideways for months and no end to the recent volatility in sight, many have turned to some of the world’s most famous contrarian investors for guidance in these puzzling times. One of the most popular of these investors is Marc Faber, a Swiss fund manager and the author of the popular Gloom [...]
Despite global turmoil and continued concern over budget deficits in countries around the world, equity markets soared in July posting double digit gains on the back of solid earnings and easing fears over the situation in Europe. With equity markets jumping again to start August, gold has experienced a bit of a sell of as [...]
One of the most interesting developments in the ETF market over the last several years has been the extent to which investors have embraced these securities as opportunities to add commodity exposure to traditional stock-and-bond portfolios. Within the commodity space, no single fund has enjoyed a more impressive rise than the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), [...]
The latest figures for the ETF industry are out, and the numbers continue to impress. ETF assets finished the first half of the year at just under $788 billion, down about $10 billion from the previous month. But that decline was attributable primarily to sinking asset values; cash inflows for the month of June totaled [...]
The ETF industry continued to show impressive growth last month, with aggregate cash flows into exchange-traded products topping $6 billion. But even another month of strong inflows couldn’t prevent most AUM totals from sliding during a tumultuous May; only six ETF issuers saw total assets increase last month. But not all corners of the ETF [...]
ETF Securities, the London-based firm that holds a big slice of market share on the European ETF scene, has established itself as a formidable player in the U.S. market in its first year in the game. The company’s gold (SGOL) and silver (SIVR) ETFs have been successful in competing with much larger, well-established products, and [...]
