Gold, throughout history, has been coveted for its intrinsic value, beauty, and symbolism. As an investment, it’s often viewed as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. But in today’s financial landscape, a new question has emerged: Is it better to invest in a gold ETF, or physical gold bullion, such as coins or bars?
While both have their merits, there’s a compelling case to be made for the former. Let’s delve into the world of gold ETFs and understand why they might just be the better option for modern investors.
What Is a Gold ETF?
A gold ETF generally aims to closely track the price of gold. Its shares are traded on major stock exchanges, making them easily accessible to a wide range of investors. The largest gold ETFs hold physical gold, with the issuer storing a fund’s assets (usually gold bars) in secure vaults. Other gold ETFs achieve exposure to the precious metal through contracts or derivatives, though these have become less popular in recent years.
Unlike physical gold on its own, where an investor takes possession of the metal either in the form of bars or coins, a gold ETF investor owns a portion of a fund that represents a fixed amount of gold, typically measured in ounces. For every ETF share in circulation, there’s a corresponding amount of gold ensconced in fortified vaults. Such tangible backing not only creates trust but also assures investors of the value of their investment.
Price and NAV Mechanics
Gold ETFs can be bought or sold during market hours just like any other stock. This liquidity ensures that an investor can quickly convert their holdings into cash if needed. On the other hand, selling physical gold might involve visiting a dealer, negotiating prices, and sometimes even facing delays. A dealer’s spread (the difference between what the dealer pays for the gold and the price at which they will sell it) will almost always be wider than the on-exchange spread of an ETF. Although the share price of a gold ETF generally tracks the price of gold quite closely due to the ETF’s structure and creation/redemption mechanism, there can be short-term discrepancies.
The net asset value (NAV) represents the per-share value of the ETF’s total assets, minus its liabilities. To calculate the NAV of a gold ETF:
- Determine the current market value of the gold the ETF holds.
- Deduct the ETF’s liabilities (like management fees).
- Divide this net value by the total number of outstanding shares of the ETF.
There is little difference between the premium and discount mechanics of a precious metals ETF versus conventional equity or bond ETFs. The same factors — including macroeconomic indicators, sentiments about the future price of gold, geopolitical events, and global economic health — all play a role in this dynamic, which is ultimately a product of supply and demand.
Advantages of Gold ETFs Over Physical Gold
There are numerous reasons gold ETFs are the more pragmatic choice than their bullion counterparts. Here are just a few:
Liquidity: Gold ETFs can be traded on major stock exchanges, ensuring swift conversions into cash if needed. In contrast, selling physical gold might require dealer negotiations and potential delays. It also requires the transportation of the gold to the dealer themselves, which can be a risky endeavor.
Storage and Insurance: Physical gold demands secure storage and insurance due to theft or damage risks. Gold ETFs, being a paper representation of gold, eliminate these concerns. For a small annual fee, investors can be assured their gold is being held in the most secure of facilities.
Cost Transparency: While physical gold incurs costs like dealer markups and insurance, gold ETFs generally only have a management fee, making them often more cost-effective. These details are outlined transparently within the funds’ regulatory documents, including the prospectus.
Purity Assurance: Gold ETFs track the price of 24 karat gold, ensuring consistent purity. The purity of physical gold can sometimes be in question, especially if sourced from less reputable dealers. For physically backed gold ETFs, the vaulted metals are periodically audited for both quantity and quality. This provides investors with peace of mind that their investment genuinely reflects the value of pure gold.
Physical Gold ETFs
Gold ETFs have diversified substantially since the inception of the first one in 2004. These days, these products provide investors with a broader palette of options tailored to different risk profiles, investment strategies, and objectives. While they all revolve around gold, the underlying mechanisms can differ significantly. Two prominent types include ETFs backed by physical gold, and leveraged ETFs, both long and inverse. Leveraged funds typically use futures contracts to accomplish their goal.
Physically backed gold ETFs directly hold gold bullion in secure vaults. Each share of the ETF generally represents a specific quantity of gold, usually a fraction of an ounce. Investors get exposure to the spot price of gold without the challenges of storage, insurance, and authenticity concerns. The $52 billion SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is the most popular ETF in this category and the first gold ETF to list in the U.S. Each share of GLD corresponds to 1/10th of an ounce of gold. Another potential option is the newer iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM), which launched in 2021 and boasts a 0.09% fee, the lowest among any ETF in its class.
However, some investors may not want to give up entirely the opportunity to own physical gold without the ETF wrapper. The VanEck Merck Gold Trust (OUNZ) is the only U.S.-listed ETF that allows investors to redeem their shares in the fund for physical gold.
Leveraged/Inverse Gold ETFs
Instead of holding physical gold, leveraged gold ETFs invest in gold futures contracts, and seek to magnify investor returns. These products allow investors to gain outsized exposure to gold’s price movements without holding the physical metal. The main drawback, as with any futures-based ETF, is it can be influenced by “contango” and “backwardation.” Those terms refer to the futures market’s structure and can affect returns.
They are also impacted by decay, a phenomenon that can erode the returns of inverse (and leveraged) ETFs over time, especially in volatile markets. Decay primarily results from the daily rebalancing of these funds, and leads to frequent reverse splits. The ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) uses futures contracts to achieve its investment goal, which is to track the price of gold with 2x leverage. There are also ETFs on the short side, such as the ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL) fund. The complexity of these products is reflected in their higher fees.
Conclusion
Gold, in any form, offers an avenue for preserving wealth and hedging against economic uncertainties. But for those seeking convenience, liquidity, and cost efficiency, a gold ETF stands out as a superior choice.
For those seeking outsized exposure, it’s essential for investors to approach leveraged ETFs with a well-informed strategy. They should be viewed less as long-term holdings and more as tools for short-term hedging or tactical plays. Moreover, continuously monitoring market conditions and periodically reassessing the position becomes imperative to mitigate risks.
By understanding the mechanics and benefits of gold ETFs, investors can make informed decisions that align with their financial goals in the modern age.
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