One look at gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) will tell you this much: investors love their physically-backed metal funds. If certain providers have their way, there could be a lot more to love soon.
Now that precious metal ETFs have been covered by such funds as SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) and ETFS Physical Platinum (NYSEArca: PPLT), the industry is setting its sights on industrial metals. [ETF Assets Hit a Milestone, Thanks to Gold.]
Aluminum is considered one of the prime candidates for such a fund, considering how cheap it is to store and how plentiful it happens to be right now. [Would-Be Aluminum ETF May Have Supplier.]
Liam Denning for The Wall Street Journal reports that physical funds don’t suffer issues from rolling futures positions, making them an investor favorite. [4 Ways to Cope With Contango.]
Meanwhile, it’s not just ETF investors looking for metals exposure. the Dent Tactical ETF (NYSEArca: DENT), an actively managed fund sponsored by AdvisorShares, dumped the last of its U.S. holdings last week in favor of gold-rich South Africa, betting that the metal will outperform. Cinthia Murphy for Index Universe reports that the change is part of an ongoing strategy to eliminate exposure to U.S. stocks and focus instead on commodities, particularly precious metals, in part to protect investors from a falling dollar.
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.