While the capital markets are wondering how low can yields go, gold bulls are wondering whether the precious metal can keep on reaching higher heights. Per a CNBC article, Swiss banking giant UBS seems to side more with the latter and is “very bullish” on gold.
“We are very bullish on gold. We think that the prices will go higher and what is interesting is we think it will stay higher for longer than expected,” Yeoh Choo Guan, the bank’s head of Asean global markets.
A confluence of low rates and uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming presidential election can keep feeding into higher gold prices.
“So recently we have a retracement in the equity market. What was interesting is that gold was very resilient despite the equity’s pullback, suggesting that there’s ongoing buying support,” Guan said.
Adding to its safe haven status is gold’s ability to diversify portfolios with real assets.
“On top of that, gold is also a very attractive portfolio diversifier. I think a lot of investors have been piling into bonds and REITs (real estate investment trusts), so gold is viewed as an alternative to that, in case that particular segment gives you pressure,” she added.
Investors looking to get gold exposure can look at funds like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD ) and the SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM ). Precious metals like gold offer investors an alternative to diversify their holdings, and like other commodities, gold will march to the beat of its own drum compared to the broader market.
As a backdoor play, ETF investors can get gold exposure via miners using the following funds:
- VanEck Vectors Gold Miners (GDX ): seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the NYSE® Arca Gold Miners Index®. The index is a modified market-capitalization weighted index primarily comprised of publicly traded companies involved in the mining for gold and silver.
- Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (JNUG ): seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 200% of the daily performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index. The index includes companies from markets that are freely investable to foreign investors, including “emerging markets,” as that term is defined by the index provider.
- Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NUGT ): seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 200% of the daily performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index. The index is comprised of publicly traded companies that operate globally in both developed and emerging markets, and are involved primarily in the mining for gold and, in mining for silver.
