ETF Spotlight on ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares (NYSEArca: AGOL), part of an ongoing series.
Assets: $69.4 million.
Objective: The ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares is designed to reflect the performance of the gold spot price minus fees.
Holdings: The trust holds physical gold bullion bars stored in secure vaults in Singapore under the custody of JP Morgan Chase.
What You Should Know:
- ETF Securities sponsors AGOL.
- AGOL has an expense ratio of 0.39%.
- The fund is up 12.21% over the last month and up 19.0% over the past three months.
- Gains on metals ETFs that hold bullion can be taxed at a higher rate than stocks.
- Gold is widely considered as a store of value, is a hedge against inflation, provides portfolio diversification and shows low correlation to equities.
- “AGOL is structured as a ‘grantor trust,’ so any long-term capital gains from an investment in AGOL will be taxed as a collectible, at a maximum rate of 28%,” according to Morningstar analyst Abraham Bailin.
The Latest news:
- Safe-haven demand for gold bullion held after the Sarkozy-Merkel meeting failed allay investor fears, reports Rujun Shen for Reuters.
- Additionally, Eurzone economic data showed that growth slowed in the second quarter, particularly in Germany and France.
- “Long-term investors are very hesitant to put their money into stocks right now,” commented Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at MF Global, in a WSJ report. “Currencies are being disasters across the board. People are looking for some place to preserve wealth.”
ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares
For past stories in this series, visit our ETF Spotlight category.
Max Chen 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.