Historically when the S&P GSCI Gold lost in a month, it lost 4.3% on average. During those months, the GVZ returned 5.2% on average. However, when the S&P GSCI Gold lost more than 5.0% in a single month, the GVZ provided even more protection with an average return of 16.7%. Again, this is exactly the kind of protection investors may look for in order to hedge the downside risk of gold price drops. The worst month in history (since Sep 2010) for the S&P GSCI Gold was in June 2013 when the index lost 12.2%. During that month the GVZ returned 40.3% and provided strong protection as evidenced by the 48.5% gain in 2013 when the S&P GSCI Gold lost 28.3%, the worst year in history since 1981. If as an investor since Sep 2010, 10% of GVZ was taken from an allocation to the S&P GSCI Gold then the return would have improved from -8.6% to 19.1%, an astonishing capital preservation measure in my opinion.
This article was written by Jodie Gunzberg, global head of commodities, S&P Down Jones Indices.
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