Vanguard doesn’t have an exchange traded fund (ETF) for gold or silver, which apparently suits founder John Bogle just fine.
“There’s a speculative binge going on in gold and certainly in silver,” Bogle told Fox Business earlier this week.
Precious metals ETFs such as SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) were flat after some early swings Wednesday. The silver ETF fell about 4% the previous session, correcting after a strong rally.
Yet Bogle said the surge in gold and silver prices is “total speculation,” adding the metals don’t have “fundamental value” because they don’t create income or a flow of capital.
“So they’re just rank speculation,” Bogle asserted. “But speculations can go a lot further than you ever think they can go. So I wouldn’t ignore the possibility that they can keep going up and up for a while. But I think it’s going to be a case, as it usually is, that the higher they go, the more they fall at the end. So I’d say a real cautionary flag there.”