Global X, one of the fastest-growing exchange traded fund (ETF) providers, is unveiling two first-of-their-kind ETFs this week: uranium and gold explorers. Meanwhile, Vanguard has rolled out an international real estate ETF.
Global X Explorers ETF (NYSEArca: GLDX) will be the first ETF to invest solely in exploration firms rather than actual miners. The Global X fund is tracking what is considered a more risky area of the market, says Murray Coleman for Barrons. The ETF will start trading with 30 different companies in its portfolio. [A New ETF Provider Enters the Field.]
Gold exploration is considered a risky corner of the gold market, involving big start-up costs and uncertainty about whether gold will actually be discovered. The expense ratio clocks in at 0.65%.
Tomorrow, Global X will begin trading its anticipated uranium ETF on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEArca: URA) will give exposure to a global pool of companies. The ETF Professor for Benzinga reports constituents will be uranium miners, refiners or equipment makers. URA will have an expense ratio of 0.69%. [How to Sort Out the Niche ETF Sectors.]
Besides nuclear energy, which accounts for half of uranium’s usage, it has other uses. It also provides about 4% of the world’s non-renewable energy, explains Nuclear. [Is There a Uranium ETF In the Future?]
Traditionally, uranium has been extracted from open pits and underground mines. In the past decade, alternative techniques such in-situ leach mining, in which solutions are injected into underground deposits to dissolve uranium, have become more prevalent. Most U.S. mines have shut down and imports account for about three-fourths of the roughly 16 metric tons of refined uranium used domestically each year, reports the Fact Sheet.
In other new-ETF news, EMII.com reports that Vanguard has started a new international real estate index fund, the Vanguard Global ex-US Real Estate Fund (NYSEArca: VNQI). The fund, which offers four types of share classes such as investor, institutional, signal and ETF shares, will be based on the S&P Global ex-US Property Index. [New ETFs: Equal Weight, Physical Copper.]
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.