Alternative Ways to Play Gold With ETFs | ETF Trends

Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) are all the rage these days, and some of the most popular funds are the most successful.

However, there are some lesser-known funds that can give you access to gold, as well. [Gold ETFs Show Their Safe Haven Mettle.]

Gold miner funds are a different way to capture the rise in gold, as their recent performance has been better than ETFs that physically own the metal. Case in point: SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) is up 5.6% in the last month, but Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDXJ) is up 13.7% in the last month.

The ETF Professor for Benzinga also suggests the leveraged gold miners fund plays. [How Gold Miner ETFs Stay Strong Even As Prices Cool.]

Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2x Shares (NYSEArca: NUGT) and its inverse Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 2x Shares (NYSEArca: DUST) are two ways to give your gold bets a boost. NUGT can play the upside as the Middle Eastern tensions support rising gold prices, and DUST can play the reverse side of this if you are bearish on gold miners.

Sam Conventry for The Economy News reports that the combination of macro, micro, and technical drivers should allow gold prices to achieve higher highs, according to Newmont Mining Company (NYSE: NEM). Newmont is a top holding in Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDX) if you are feeling more traditional and want exposure to large-cap miners, which is how it differs from GDXJ. The major benefit in equity gold ETFs is that they can be considered a play on the expertise of companies that mine gold. Who knows the market better than they do?

Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.