ETF investors looking into gold as an alternative asset should consider the recent changes to the gold investing landscape, the role it can play in portfolios and what’s on the horizon for the remainder of the year.
On the upcoming webcast, 5 Keys to Striking Gold in Your Portfolio, George Milling–Stanley, Vice President and Head of Gold Strategy for State Street Global Advisors, Matthew Bartolini, Vice President and Head of SPDR Americas Research at State Street Global Advisors, and Juan Carlos Artigas, Director of Investment Research for the World Gold Council, will discuss their midyear outlook and potential impacts to the broader market and investor portfolios.
The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), the largest physically backed gold-related ETF on the market, has been the go-to ETF option for gold exposure. GLD comes with a 0.40% expense ratio and currently trades at around $116 per share.
Investors have turned to GLD as a quick and easy way to gain exposure to gold price movements as they hedge against market risks, help protect their purchasing power in times of inflationary pressures or capitalize on increasing demand from the emerging markets with a growing middle-income class.
A Cheaper Gold ETF Exposure
The World Gold Council and State Street Global Advisors expanded on the gold ETF theme with the launch of a new offering that provides the cheapest exposure along with a low share price to those investors seeking exposure to the yellow precious metal. The SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSEArca: GLDM) has a 0.18% expense ratio and was initially listed at a per-share trading price of 1/100th of an ounce of gold, as represented by the LBMA Gold Price PM (USD).
The new gold fund’s strategy is identical to GLD – both are physically backed by gold bullion and are structured as grantor trusts. However, GLD’s price was 1/10th the price of gold in ounces at its inception while the new Gold MiniShares ETF was priced at 1/100th the price of gold in ounces. GLDM was currently trading around $12.3 per share Wednesday while Comex gold futures were hovering around $1,227.5 per ounce.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about gold can register for the Thursday, July 19 webcast here.