Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (ARCA: DBP)

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PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund

Basic Materials

The Fund's strategy is, while the Fund's performance will reflect the appreciation or depreciation of those holdings, the Fund's performance, whether positive or negative, will be driven primarily by its strategy of trading futures contracts with the aim of seeking to track the Index.

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Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund

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El oro marca récords históricos mientras aumentan los temores económicos. ¿Qué provocó esta subida y qué puede venir?

Precios del oro alcanzan máximos históricos: cuánto podrías ganar con ETF estratégicos

As gold teases all-time highs, peaking at <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/guidance/25/06/45928561/gold-biggest-boom-in-decades-and-investors-are-still-missing-out">$3,446 an ounce on Friday</a> and logging its best half-year rise in more than 40 year, investors are scrambling into ETFs to join the party. Yet as several gold ETFs have tracked the metal&#8217;s rocket-like run, a more fundamental question is rising to the surface: Are these ETFs designed for the type of crisis driving gold&#8217;s rise?
That is, can your gold ETF really save you when it counts?
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">When Safe-Haven Investing Gets Technical</h2>
Gold&#8217;s rally this year has been fueled by a powerful combination of Middle East tensions, U.S. fiscal instability, and weakening dollar. But in the midst of all the macro upheaval, investors in ETFs might be overlooking an important nuance: the structural strength of their gold holdings.
On the surface, highly traded ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>), iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAU#NYSE">IAU</a>), abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SGOL#NYSE">SGOL</a>), and SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLDM#NYSE">GLDM</a>) appear to be identical. They all aim to track the price of gold, have low expense ratios, and are traded with lots of liquidity. However, beneath the surface, the distinctions might prove fatal in an actual crisis situation.
Consider storage, for instance. GLD holds much of its gold in the <a href="https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/media/GLD/file/GLD-8K-Nov30-2022.pdf?">vaults </a>of HSBC in London, subject to UK law. SGOL <a href="https://www.onegold.com/etfs/sgol?">holds </a>its bullion in Zurich and London, and IAU has <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/literature/prospectus/p-ishares-gold-trust-prospectus-12-31.pdf?">vaults </a>in New York, Toronto, and London. During times of peace, this is a small asterisk. During wartime, or during sanctions, sovereign freezes, or bank disruptions, geography of the vault can be the weak spot or secret advantage of an ETF.
Also, not all ETFs have the same redemption rights. GLD permits large institutions to trade shares for real bullion, but individual investors can&#8217;t. SGOL has more transparency in auditing and bar listings, and while GLDM is less expensive, it&#8217;s less accommodating in redemption and verification.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Liquidity Vs. Ownership</h2>
And then there&#8217;s the derivative problem. Certain &#8220;gold&#8221; ETFs don&#8217;t own any physical gold at all, opting for futures or swap contracts instead, subjecting investors to counterparty risk, particularly in times of market stress. Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DBP#NYSE">DBP</a>) and ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/UGL#NYSE">UGL</a>) are examples of such speculative funds, constructed more for short-term tactical use than long-term crisis protection.
To investors leveraging gold as a hedge against monetary breakdown, this makes all the difference. A futures-backed gold ETF can track price beautifully, until liquidity evaporates or the roll cost is unsustainable.
Global central banks are voting with their vaults. They've bought over 1,000 tonnes of gold in the last year, according to the World Gold Council, cited in a Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-03/gold-market-s-record-breaking-rally-powered-by-central-bank-buying?sref=TBDibEcD">report</a>, and now hold bullion equivalent to 18% of outstanding U.S. public debt—up from 13% a decade ago.
That&#8217;s had a long shadow over Treasuries and the dollar, and might drive more institutional money into physical gold exposure. If it does, ETFs that stockpile actual bullion, not promises to deliver bullion, might be the next best thing.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Know Your Gold</h2>
As gold charges toward $3,500, and possibly even $4,000 by mid-2026, according to Goldman <a href="https://www.cnbctv18.com/market/commodities/gold-prices-today-down-two-factors-may-hold-it-up-19605598.htm">projections</a>, ETF investors need to peer past the shiny charts.
Price is only part of the equation. In a time of geopolitical uncertainty, structural transparency, redemption rights, and vault geography may be what distinguishes gold ETFs that glitter from those that merely shine.
<figure class="wp-block-table"> 
<table class="has-fixed-layout">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>ETF</th>
<th>Structure</th>
<th>Storage Location</th>
<th>Redeemable for Gold?</th>
<th>Expense Ratio</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>GLD</th>
<th>Physical</th>
<th>HSBC vault, London (U.K.); New York (U.S.A.); Zurich (Switzerland)</th>
<th>Yes (institutions only)</th>
<th>0.40%</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>IAU</th>
<th>Physical</th>
<th>New York (U.S.A.), Toronto (Canada), Zurich (Switzerland) vaults</th>
<th>Yes (institutions)</th>
<th>0.25%</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>SGOL</th>
<th>Physical</th>
<th>Zurich (Switzerland), London (U.K.)</th>
<th>Yes</th>
<th>0.17%</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>GLDM</th>
<th>Physical</th>
<th>London (U.K.) —smaller bars</th>
<th>Limited</th>
<th>0.10%</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>UGL</th>
<th>Derivatives</th>
<th>N/A (futures-based)</th>
<th>No</th>
<th>0.95%</th>
</tr>
</thead>
</table>
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Key Gold-Backed ETFs – At a Glance </figcaption></figure>

Are Gold ETFs Really A Hedge During A Geopolitical Crisis? Here's What To Check Before Investing

Gold prices have been scaling fresh highs amid the global market uncertainty, however, some experts point out that a severe correction could be looming amid this gold bull run.
What Happened: While the Gold Spot U.S. Dollar has scaled a fresh high at $3,357.81 per ounce and trades above the 3,300-mark, experts have now started cautioning against this bull run.
According to Patrick Karim, the co-founder of NorthstarBadcharts.com, gold undergoes corrections even during bull markets.
The data shared by him shows that gold prices underwent a correction of over 48% during December 1974 to August 1976, 33% during March 2008 to October 2008, and 22% between August 2020 to September 2022.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">I know, gold bulls don&#39;t want to read this right now&#8230; But even during bull markets, gold had these corrections: Dec 1974 to Aug 1976, drop over 48%. Mar 2008 to Oct 2008, drop over 33%. Aug 2020 to Sep 2022, drop over 22%. Same setup now with price historically stretched. <a href="https://t.co/FgRd6uJh6D">pic.twitter.com/FgRd6uJh6D</a>
&mdash; Patrick Karim (@badcharts1) <a href="https://twitter.com/badcharts1/status/1912633618435887502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Meanwhile, the CEO of Cardone Capital, Grant Cardone said, &#8220;gold acting like we in depression. Rates will drop like rock.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">gold acting like we in depression. Rates will drop like rock &#x2b07;&#xFE0F; <a href="https://t.co/zy09KAdhYd">pic.twitter.com/zy09KAdhYd</a>
&mdash; Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) <a href="https://twitter.com/GrantCardone/status/1912618410497782149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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According to data shared by Charlie Bilello of Creative Planning, the inflation-adjusted gold prices were back at an all-time high, after 45 years, surpassing the prior peak from 1980.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">It took 45 years to get there, but inflation-adjusted Gold prices are back at an all-time high, surpassing the prior peak from 1980. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24GOLD&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$GOLD</a><a href="https://t.co/l5IYmkeySJ">https://t.co/l5IYmkeySJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/bXWisvrl3c">pic.twitter.com/bXWisvrl3c</a>
&mdash; Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1912558536573268362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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</figure>
Economist Mohamed El-Erian said that the rise in gold prices was a result of the slow and steady diversification away from the dollar by some foreign central banks and others.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">The price of gold registered another record high today, overcoming yet another periodic round of profit-taking by some tactical traders — this as it benefits from the tailwind of slow and steady diversification away from the dollar by some foreign central banks and others.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gold?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gold</a>… <a href="https://t.co/MKDnxZddv0">pic.twitter.com/MKDnxZddv0</a>
&mdash; Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) <a href="https://twitter.com/elerianm/status/1912523089557987357?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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</figure>
This was also confirmed by a study titled ‘Dollar Upheaval: This Time is Different&#8217;. The note written by five experts concluded that investors "(i) question the safety of the dollar, not just Treasuries, and (ii) that they perceive these changes to be long-lasting."
"Normally, in times of global volatility… the dollar appreciates as dollar-denominated assets benefit from a flight to safety. Not this time around," the note stated.
Thus, it is evident that investors were preferring gold as a safe-haven asset over the U.S. Treasuries of the U.S. dollar.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/04/44834505/scott-bessent-affirms-china-wont-weaponize-us-treasuries-as-it-would-weaken-their-currency-affecting-exports-we-do-buybacks">Scott Bessent Says China Won&#8217;t &#8216;Weaponize&#8217; US Treasuries, Citing Risk To RMB And Exports: &#8216;We Do Buybacks&#8217;</a>
Why It Matters: The Gold Spot US Dollar price has rallied 27% from $2,623.81 on Dec. 31, 2024, to $3,332.16 per ounce as of today. 
When compared with data from over 25 years, gold prices have skyrocketed 1056% from $288.25 on Dec. 31, 1999. In comparison, the S&amp;P 500 index has risen by 259.1% from 1,469.25 on Dec. 31, 1999, to 5,275.70 as of Wednesday&#8217;s close.
Gold prices were on pace to score their best year since 1979, when the prices rallied 126.5% on a year-to-date basis.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Gold hit another all-time high today and is now up over 27% in 2025. On pace for its best year since 1979.<a href="https://t.co/l5IYmkeySJ">https://t.co/l5IYmkeySJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/qrnwssFL0X">pic.twitter.com/qrnwssFL0X</a>
&mdash; Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1912676841199935975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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</figure>
Price Action: The gold price was down 0.54% at $3,332.16 as of the publication of this article. Following Gold ETFs have also done well during this bull run.
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Gold ETFs</td>
<td>YTD Performance</td>
<td>One Year Performance</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/FGDL#NYSE">FGDL</a>)</td>
<td>25.78%</td>
<td>40.86%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (BATS:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAAU#BATS">AAAU</a>)</td>
<td>25.37%</td>
<td>40.32%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GraniteShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BAR#NYSE">BAR</a>)</td>
<td>25.42%</td>
<td>40.40%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>VanEck Merk Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/OUNZ#NYSE">OUNZ</a>)</td>
<td>25.24%</td>
<td>40.15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>)</td>
<td>25.28%</td>
<td>40.02%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAU#NYSE">IAU</a>)</td>
<td>25.38%</td>
<td>40.28%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLDM#NYSE">GLDM</a>)</td>
<td>25.41%</td>
<td>40.45%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SGOL#NYSE">SGOL</a>)</td>
<td>25.32%</td>
<td>40.30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust Micro (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAUM#NYSE">IAUM</a>)</td>
<td>25.49%</td>
<td>40.60%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DBP#NYSE">DBP</a>)</td>
<td>21.48%</td>
<td>29.06%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
The SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QQQ#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>), which track the S&amp;P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell on Wednesday. The SPY was down 2.22% to $525.66, while the QQQ declined 3.02% to $444.18, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a> data.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones futures were up 1.04%, whereas the S&amp;P 500 index rose 1.19% and the Nasdaq 100 advanced 1.21%.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/25/04/44836076/gold-fund-inflows-smash-record-with-80-billion-in-2025-these-etfs-are-riding-the-3300-surge">Gold Fund Inflows Smash Record With $80 Billion In 2025 — These ETFs Are Riding The $3,300 Surge</a></li>
</ul>
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Treasuries

Gold Nears $3,400 Mark, Experts Point To Likely 'Correction' Amid Bull Market: 'Rates Will Drop Like Rock'

Amid the staggering rally in the Gold prices, the gold fund net inflows have hit a record of $80 billion year-to-date, doubling over its previous record high in 2020, according to the BofA Global Investment Strategy report.
What Happened: A BofA Research graph shared by the Kobeissi Letter on X highlights how the investors have been pouring money into gold at a record pace amid the ongoing market uncertainty.
The Gold Spot US Dollar price has rallied 25.95% from $2,623.81 on Dec. 31, 2024, to $3,304.80 per ounce as of today. Its record high stood at $3,318 per ounce as of the publication of this article.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"> 
<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">BREAKING: Gold fund net inflows have hit a record $80 BILLION year-to-date. This is 2 TIMES more than the previous high set in the full year 2020. Investors are pouring money into gold at a record pace as the market uncertainty has skyrocketed. As a result, gold prices have… <a href="https://t.co/GyD3Srw6hu">pic.twitter.com/GyD3Srw6hu</a>
&mdash; The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) <a href="https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1912204673240662143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Apart from this, the World Gold Council data for the first quarter released last week highlighted that Gold ETFs saw an inflow of 226.5 metric tons worth $21.1 billion, the largest amount since the first quarter of 2022.
Following this, Gold ETF holdings increased by 3% to 3,445.3 tons by March-end, the highest since May 2023 but below the record 3,915 tons in October 2020. However, the World Gold Council noted that U.S.-listed funds saw the largest inflow in the first quarter with 133.8 tons, followed by Europe-listed funds with 54.8 tons.
All Gold-linked ETFs have risen over 21% year-to-date in 2025.
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Gold ETFs</td>
<td>YTD Performance</td>
<td>One Year Performance</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/FGDL#NYSE">FGDL</a>)</td>
<td>21.75%</td>
<td>35.37%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (BATS:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAAU#BATS">AAAU</a>)</td>
<td>21.41%</td>
<td>34.91%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GraniteShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BAR#NYSE">BAR</a>)</td>
<td>21.46%</td>
<td>34.99%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>VanEck Merk Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/OUNZ#NYSE">OUNZ</a>)</td>
<td>21.31%</td>
<td>34.75%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>)</td>
<td>21.33%</td>
<td>34.61%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAU#NYSE">IAU</a>)</td>
<td>21.42%</td>
<td>34.88%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLDM#NYSE">GLDM</a>)</td>
<td>21.47%</td>
<td>35.05%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SGOL#NYSE">SGOL</a>)</td>
<td>21.43%</td>
<td>34.92%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust Micro (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAUM#NYSE">IAUM</a>)</td>
<td>21.49%</td>
<td>35.04%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DBP#NYSE">DBP</a>)</td>
<td>17.90%</td>
<td>24.48%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/25/04/44831287/trump-administration-imposes-up-to-245-tariff-on-chinese-imports-amid-intensifying-trade-battle">Trump Administration Imposes Up To 245% Tariff On Chinese Imports Amid Intensifying Trade Battle</a>
Why It Matters: When compared with data from over 25 years, gold prices have skyrocketed 1046.5% from $288.25 on Dec. 31, 1999, to $3,304.80 today. In comparison, the S&amp;P 500 index has risen by 267.31% from 1,469.25 on Dec. 31, 1999, to 5,396.63 as of Tuesday&#8217;s close.
According to Zafar Shaikh, the founder &amp; CEO of Invesys Capital, gold prices have doubled over the last 30 months. This last happened in 2008 and 2011. However, he cautioned that &#8220;So it may still have some juice left but if you are late to the GOLD party, take a deep breath &amp; let it pass rather than getting attracted by $5000 targets.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">30 months since <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOLD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GOLD</a> started bullrun in 2022 &amp; it&#39;s up 100% Other times when GOLD doubled in 30M was in 2008 &amp; 2011 which was followed by major correction or top for gold So it may still have some juice left but if you are late to the GOLD party, take a deep breath &amp; let it… <a href="https://t.co/glE8ikwflx">pic.twitter.com/glE8ikwflx</a>
&mdash; Zafar Shaikh (@InvesysCapital) <a href="https://twitter.com/InvesysCapital/status/1912436389808906283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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</figure>
Meanwhile, Christopher Aaron, the founder of iGold Advisor, highlighted the Dow-to-Gold ratio in a chart, which showed that the ratio had broken a 45-year best-fit trend. The chart said that this pattern suggested that gold could outpace general equities over the next several decades.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">No one is paying attention to this chart &#8212; and it is the single most important chart in all of finance&#8230;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gold?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gold</a> <a href="https://t.co/MQnJgUT5mp">pic.twitter.com/MQnJgUT5mp</a>
&mdash; Christopher Aaron (@iGlobalGold) <a href="https://twitter.com/iGlobalGold/status/1912289374584328695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
</figure>
Economist Peter Schiff, on the other hand, spoke about gold mining stocks and said in a X post that &#8220;The time to invest in gold mining stocks is now before the market surges again!&#8221;
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"> 
<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Gold&#39;s explosive rally from $2,000 to $3,000 caught investors off guard, and now it&#39;s aiming for $3,500. With China's economic grip tightening, is the US prepared for a shift in the global balance? The time to invest in gold mining stocks is now before the market surges again!… <a href="https://t.co/eys6gXzJYV">pic.twitter.com/eys6gXzJYV</a>
&mdash; Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterSchiff/status/1912429831582626183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
</figure>
Price Action: Gold was trading at $3,304.80, whereas the ETF tracking the S&amp;P 500 index, SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>), was down 0.73% in premarket.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/04/44832789/sp-500-typically-gains-18-in-a-year-after-vix-drops-from-50-to-30-level-heres-what-analysts-say">S&amp;P 500 Typically Gains 18% In A Year After VIX Drops From 50 To 30 Level: Here&#8217;s What Analysts Say</a></li>
</ul>
Image Via Shutterstock

Analyst Color

Sector ETFs

General

Gold Fund Inflows Smash Record With $80 Billion In 2025 — These ETFs Are Riding The $3,300 Surge

As gold prices have been scaling new highs, experts believe there are more legs to this surge amid the growing economic uncertainty fueled by mixed economic data and President Donald Trump&#8216;s impending tariffs.
What Happened: Gold prices scaled a fresh high of $3,149.03 per ounce on Tuesday, rising as much as 18.78% on a year-to-date basis as of April 2.
Experts believe that tariffs are a reason for this surge because the disruption in global supply chains caused by the imposed duties will lead businesses to reassess their supply routes.
According to Eugenia Mykuliak, the founder and executive director at B2PRIME Group, a recalibration of the supply chain will lead to &#8220;Capital outflows from emerging markets and increased market volatility. As such, wary investors will naturally seek refuge in safe-haven assets, with gold being the most obvious one to benefit from this shift.&#8221;
Sean Hoey, the managing director of IBV International Vaults, also adds, &#8220;Gold's record-breaking surge is a clear reflection of growing economic uncertainty and market volatility fuelled by President Trump's latest tariffs.&#8221;
He believes that investors worldwide are turning to gold, &#8220;Reinforcing its role as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical instability.&#8221;
Mykuliak reaffirms that the price surge in the yellow metal is poised to continue. &#8220;Central banks and institutional investors are already increasing their gold reserves, and while the uncertainty lingers, gold's upward price trajectory is likely to continue,&#8221; she said.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/04/44600269/mark-cuban-argues-ais-new-sht-will-drive-growth-not-deflation">Mark Cuban Dismisses Concerns of AI Causing Deflation, Calls It The &#8220;Greatest Growth And Productivity Engine Ever&#8221;</a>
Why It Matters: According to Peter Schiff, the chief economist and global strategist at Europac and the chairman of SchiffGold, &#8220;The dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power since the Fed's founding in 1913. Meanwhile, gold holds steady—which means going up when you measure it in dollar terms. In 1913, an ounce bought you a fine suit, and today, it still does. That's no accident. When you expand the money supply and availability of credit, prices rise.&#8221;
Schiff further cautions against trusting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell&#8217;s policies, arguing that neither inflation nor a potential recession is being effectively addressed. According to him, the true solutions lie in free market principles and investment in assets like gold.
While gold is up over 18% in 2025, here is a list of gold exchange-traded funds that investors can consider.
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Gold ETFs</td>
<td>YTD Performance</td>
<td>One Year Performance</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/FGDL#NYSE">FGDL</a>)</td>
<td>17.13%</td>
<td>36.65%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (BATS:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAAU#BATS">AAAU</a>)</td>
<td>17.23%</td>
<td>36.67%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GraniteShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BAR#NYSE">BAR</a>)</td>
<td>17.30%</td>
<td>36.68%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>VanEck Merk Gold ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/OUNZ#NYSE">OUNZ</a>)</td>
<td>17.18%</td>
<td>36.67%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>)</td>
<td>17.17%</td>
<td>36.36%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAU#NYSE">IAU</a>)</td>
<td>17.27%</td>
<td>36.60%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLDM#NYSE">GLDM</a>)</td>
<td>17.27%</td>
<td>36.82%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SGOL#NYSE">SGOL</a>)</td>
<td>17.17%</td>
<td>36.59%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Gold Trust Micro (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IAUM#NYSE">IAUM</a>)</td>
<td>17.31%</td>
<td>36.81%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DBP#NYSE">DBP</a>)</td>
<td>16.06%</td>
<td>29.46%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
Price Action: As of the publication of this article, the Gold Spot US Dollar was down 0.21% at $3,116.91 per ounce. The SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QQQ#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>), which track the S&amp;P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose on Tuesday. The SPY was up 0.28% to $560.97, while the QQQ advanced 0.81% to $472.70, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a> data.
On Wednesday, futures of the Dow Jones index were down 0.15%, whereas the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices also dropped by 0.24% and 0.31%, respectively.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/market-summary/25/04/44579361/charlie-mungers-top-pick-costcos-golden-touch-gold-prices-soar-58-outpacing-spy-since-it-started-selling-gold-33-months-ago" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charlie Munger's Top Pick Costco's Golden Touch: Gold Prices Soar 58%, Outpacing SPY Since It Started Selling Gold 33 Months Ago</a></li>
</ul>
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Gold Holds Above $3,100 Mark Amid Growing Economic Uncertainty: Here Are Some ETFs To Capitalize On The Golden Rush

In the wake of surging gold and silver prices, Bank of America has highlighted four exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that offer attractive exposure to precious metals.
What Happened: The top-ranked ETFs by BoFA include abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SIVR#NYSE">SIVR</a>), iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SLV#NYSE">SLV</a>), Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DBP#NYSE">DBP</a>), and abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLTR#NYSE">GLTR</a>), CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/27/silver-vs-gold-bank-of-america-names-4-attractive-etfs.html">reported</a> on Sunday. These ETFs, rated as &#8220;more attractive&#8221; by Bank of America, encapsulate a range of precious metals such as silver, gold, palladium, and platinum.
Bank of America&#8217;s research suggests that a portfolio with 40% exposure to broad commodities would have outpaced a similar portfolio with U.S. Treasury bonds by 0.8% annually since 1945. Despite strong performance post-Covid-19, long-term commodity returns remain near record lows, as per the bank. However, Bank of America anticipates a reversion to the mean for commodities.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/05/39021107/donald-trump-floats-idea-of-bringing-back-adviser-peter-navarro-for-potential-second-term-despit?itm_source=parsely-api" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Donald Trump Floats Idea Of Bringing Back Adviser Peter Navarro For Potential Second Term Despite Prison</a>
Jared Woodard, the bank&#8217;s ETF strategist, stated, &#8220;Commodities are still at all-time lows relative to financial assets, and this ratio would likely move higher in a sustained shift to a 5% world.&#8221;
The abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF SIVR is the most cost-effective silver fund in Bank of America&#8217;s coverage, with a total expense ratio of 0.50%. The bank&#8217;s commodity team is also bullish on silver, predicting spot prices to hit $26.46 per ounce by the end of 2024, and $32.50 per ounce by the end of the next year.
Why It Matters: The spotlight on these ETFs comes at a time when investors are increasingly turning to precious metals. Investors were <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/etfs/sector-etfs/24/05/38710172/as-spot-gold-stalls-will-investors-turn-to-gold-miners-this-etf-looks-ready-to-break-out-and-off">looking at gold miners as spot gold</a> prices stalled. 
This trend was followed <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/05/38920684/silver-gold-and-copper-breakout-wall-streets-last-bear-throws-in-the-towel">by a breakout in silver, gold, and copper prices</a>. This shift was particularly notable for companies like Newmont (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NEM#NYSE">NEM</a>), which are integral to the precious metals supply chain.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/24/05/39014019/nvidia-tech-stocks-propel-nasdaq-100-to-record-high-solar-sector-shines-meme-stock-?itm_source=parsely-api" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nvidia, Tech Stocks Propel Nasdaq 100 To Record High; Solar Sector Shines, Meme Stock Bubble Bursts: This Week In The Market</a>
Image by Inozemtsev Konstantin via Shutterstock
This story was generated using <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro">Benzinga Neuro</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/Pooja-Rajkumari" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pooja Rajkumari</a>

ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares

GLTR

SIVR

Amid Soaring Gold, Silver Prices, Bank of America Is Bullish On These 4 Promising Metal ETFs For Good Investment Returns

&nbsp;

	 
	By&nbsp;<a data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/author/johnwhitefoot/" rel="author" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Posts by John Whitefoot">John Whitefoot</a>


	 
	After five years of pumping trillions into the&nbsp;<a data-ls-seen="1" data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/u-s-economy/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/u-s-economy/" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" target="_blank">U.S. economy</a>, the average American really is no better off than before the&nbsp;<a data-ls-seen="1" data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/federal-reserve/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/federal-reserve/" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" title="Federal Reserve">Federal Reserve</a>&nbsp;initiated its unprecedented&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economy/two-ways-to-protect-yourself-from-americas-deteriorating-economic-divide/1053/?lc=int_mb_1001" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economy/two-ways-to-protect-yourself-from-americas-deteriorating-economic-divide/1053/?lc=int_mb_1001" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">economic</a>&nbsp;stimulus efforts. This is in spite of&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economy/maybe-you-can-beat-the-federal-reserve-after-all/1179/?lc=int_mb_1001" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economy/maybe-you-can-beat-the-federal-reserve-after-all/1179/?lc=int_mb_1001" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Federal Reserve</a>&nbsp;chairman Ben Bernanke&rsquo;s claims that the Fed&rsquo;s efforts at encouraging U.S.&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economic-growth/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/economic-growth/" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" title="economic growth">economic growth</a>are helping Main Street more than&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/investment-strategy/how-to-wall-street-proof-your-investment-portfolio-for-bull-and-bear-markets/629/?lc=int_mb_1001" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/investment-strategy/how-to-wall-street-proof-your-investment-portfolio-for-bull-and-bear-markets/629/?lc=int_mb_1001" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Wall Street</a>.


	 
	Bernanke may claim to be focused on helping the average American, but the U.S. economic numbers suggest his steely gaze is trained elsewhere. For example, even though unemployment numbers improved from 7.4% in July to 7.3% in August, the vast majority of those&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/wealth-management/only-sector-creating-jobs-and-long-term-growth-opportunities/990/?lc=int_mb_1001" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/wealth-management/only-sector-creating-jobs-and-long-term-growth-opportunities/990/?lc=int_mb_1001" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">jobs</a>&nbsp;were created in low-wage-paying industries. On top of that, more and more have given up looking for work and are no longer considered unemployed, so they&rsquo;re removed from the equation. Voila, better numbers.


	 
	What about housing prices? While a slightly improving U.S. economy has lifted housing prices 13% over the last year and a half, they&rsquo;re still down 25% from their 2007 pre-Great Recession highs. It&rsquo;s also important to remember that any increase on the back of an improving U.S. economy, while a welcome sign, is only on paper.


	 
	At the same time, 7.1 million homes, or 14.5% of all residential properties with a mortgage, still have negative equity. Of the 41.5 million residential properties with positive equity, one quarter (10.3 million) have less than 20% equity. Borrowers with less than 20% equity could have a difficult time getting new financing. Interestingly, 1.7 million residential properties have less than five percent equity, meaning they are at risk of negative equity if the markets turn and home prices slide. (Source: &ldquo;CoreLogic Equity Report: Second Quarter 2013,&rdquo; CoreLogic web site, September 16, 2013.)


	 
	While the S&amp;P 500 has improved 150% since March 2009, U.S. poverty rates have not fared as well. In 2007, before the Great Recession, the U.S. poverty rate was 12.5%; over the ensuing five years, it would soar 20%. In 2009, at the start of the Great Recession, the U.S. poverty rate was 14.3%. In 2012, about 46.5 million, or 15% of Americans, were living in poverty in 2012, slightly more than the 46.2 million living in poverty in 2011.


	 
	While an unabashed optimist would say the poverty rate held steady at 15% for two years, I think a realist would say it&rsquo;s been stuck at 15% for the second straight year. According to the United States Census Bureau, income gains made after the recession ended in 2009 have gone to the top five percent of earners; those in the bottom 80% are making considerably less. (Source: &ldquo;Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2012,&rdquo; U.S. Census Bureau web site, September 17, 2013.)


	 
	Sadly, the U.S. economy has been in recovery mode for almost five years, and despite the trillions of dollars in economic stimulus, more Americans are actually worse off. Unless jobs, housing, and poverty levels are indicative of an improving U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve looking out for Main Street more than Wall Street, then things are not going according to plan.


	 
	Instead of looking at companies that provide products and services people want, it might be a better idea to consider those companies that provide products and/or services people&nbsp;need, such as a utility exchange-traded fund (ETF) like Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xlu#NYSE">XLU</a>)


	 
	It may not be popular right now, but with the U.S. economy on dubious footing, it&rsquo;s a good idea to keep precious metal ETFs on your radar, like the Power Shares DB&nbsp;<a data-ls-seen="1" data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/precious-metals/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/precious-metals/" title="Precious Metals">Precious Metals</a>(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>) ETF.


	 
	Despite the so-called improving U.S. economy, investors looking to add depth to their retirement portfolio might want to do the opposite of what the Federal Reserve is implying.


	 
	This article&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/stock-market/poverty-rate-reveals-just-how-little-the-feds-helping-main-street/1837/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/stock-market/poverty-rate-reveals-just-how-little-the-feds-helping-main-street/1837/" target="_blank">Poverty Rate Reveals Just How Little the Fed&rsquo;s Helping Main Street</a>&nbsp;was originally published at&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/" target="_blank">Daily Gains Letter</a>

Politics

Poverty Rate Reveals Just How Little the Fed's Helping Main Street

Harvard Management Company, investment manager of the largest U.S. university endowment plan, has been one of the more active users of ETFs among university endowments. 

The investment firm's use of ETFs dates back at least several years and HMC is also known <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/12/05/2596078/institutions-increasing-use-of-etfs">for embracing an array of emerging markets funds</a>.

Going somewhat unnoticed in the fanfare of the most recent 13F filing season is that HMC still holds investments in about 20 ETFs. That much is not surprising. Something else that drew little attention was the degree to which HMC slashed its exposure to emerging markets ETFs in the fourth quarter.

From Chile to China to India, HMC pared stakes in plenty of popular country-specific emerging markets ETFs in the last three months of 2012. 

The iShares MSCI Chile Capped Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ech#NYSE">ECH</a>) was just one of the emerging markets ETFs HMC has reduced exposure to. HMC held nearly 439,250 shares of the lone Chile ETF at the end of the fourth quarter, a 13 percent reduction from the prior three-month period. 

Staying in Latin America, HMC reduced its exposure to the iShares MSCI Mexico Capped Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/eww#NYSE">EWW</a>) by 25 percent to about 384,470 shares. HMC also reduced its stake in EWW's largest holding, mobile phone carrier America Movil (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/amx#NYSE">AMX</a>), by three percent while leaving unchanged its position in EWW's second-largest holding, Fomento Economico (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/fmx#NYSE">FMX</a>).

The endowment plan manager also lowered its stake in the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ewz#NYSE">EWZ</a>) by <a href="http://whalewisdom.com/filer/harvard-management-co-inc">eight percent last quarter</a>. HMC's positions in Petrobras (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/pbr#NYSE">PBR</a>) and Vale (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vale#NYSE">VALE</a>), EWZ's two largest holdings, were unchanged. HMC also liquidated its entire stake in the iShares S&amp;P Latin America 40 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ilf#NYSE">ILF</a>)

Perhaps in a sign that some professionals are starting to realize <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/12/11/3050066/four-reasons-to-prefer-this-china-etf-over-fxi">there are better ways to grab ETF exposure to China</a>, HMC slashed its investment in the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/fxi#NYSE">FXI</a>) by 44 percent in the fourth quarter. 

That may sound like a lot, but HMC also liquidated all of its positions in the WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/epi#NYSE">EPI</a>) and the iShares MSCI Poland Capped Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/epol#NYSE">EPOL</a>).

HMC's stakes in some of FXI's top-10 holdings, including China Mobile (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/chl#NYSE">CHL</a>) and Cnooc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ceo#NYSE">CEO</a>), were unchanged. 

Staying in Asia, HMC lowered its stake in the iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ewy#NYSE">EWY</a>) by 18 percent, but left unchanged its investments in the iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ewm#NYSE">EWM</a>) and the iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ephe#NYSE">EPHE</a>). HMC also did not alter its position in the Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/idx#NYSE">IDX</a>), the management firm's fifth-largest holding.

HMC also cut its investment in the iPath MSCI India Index ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/inp#NYSE">INP</a>) by 48 percent to just over 401,200 shares. The firm also sold nearly 2,300 shares of the iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tur#NYSE">TUR</a>) in the quarter.

However, while HMC was busy reducing exposure to emerging markets ETFs, it did add to some of its U.S.-focused positions. HMC's investments in the iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ivv#NYSE">IVV</a>) and the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iwm#NYSE">IWM</a>) grew by four and six percent, respectively, during the fourth quarter. HMC added seven percent to its stake in the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vig#NYSE">VIG</a>), the largest dividend ETF by assets.

During the fourth quarter, HMC slashed its stake in the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/efa#NYSE">EFA</a>) by 80 percent, reducing its investment in that ETF by over 126,300 shares to just under 30,000 shares, <a href="http://whalewisdom.com/filer/harvard-management-co-inc">according to the most recent 13F</a>. The firm also added a new investment in the Vanguard MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vea#NYSE">VEA</a>) of almost 232,400 shares.

HMC was also active with commodities funds during the fourth quarter, reducing positions in the PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dba#NYSE">DBA</a>) and the PowerShares DB Energy Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbe#NYSE">DBE</a>). The firm added to positions in the PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbb#NYSE">DBB</a>) and the PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>).

For more on ETFs, click <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">here</a>.

Long Ideas

Broad U.S. Equity ETFs

Short Ideas

Emerging Market ETFs

Intraday Update

Trading Ideas

ISHARES MSCI PHILIPPINES INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND

EPHE

iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market Index Fund ETF

EPOL

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. De C.V.

iShares Trust S&P Latin America 40 Index Fund

iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund

VALE

Harvard Management Slashes EM Exposure, Still Loves ETFs

With $68.9 billion in assets under management, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gld#NYSE">GLD</a>) is the second-largest ETF in the world. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iau#NYSE">IAU</a>) is not exactly tiny with $10 billion in AUM, nor can the $9.5 billion iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/slv#NYSE">SLV</a>) be considered diminutive.

On the mining front, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gdx#NYSE">GDX</a>) has almost $8.4 billion in AUM while the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gdxj#NYSE">GDXJ</a>) is home to a healthy $2.6 billion in assets. In other words, it is unusual to find an exchange-traded product that offers exposure to the precious metals complex that can be considered anonymous or obscure.

Whether its a futures play, a fund backed by physical holdings or an equity-based fund, there are a few precious metals ETFs and ETNs out there that brokers and investors probably have not heard of. With gold and silver looking as though they want to make new highs, there is no time like the present to become acquainted with some new precious metals plays.

ETFS Physical White Metals Basket Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/wite#NYSE">WITE</a>)
For the investor that already has gold exposure and just cannot decide between the white metals, there is the ETFS Physical White Metals Basket Shares. Nearly two-years-old, WITE uses a basket approach to give investors exposure to silver, platinum and palladium. WITE currently holds almost 49,500 ounces of silver, 495 ounces of platinum and 396 ounces of palladium, <a href="http://www.etfsecurities.com/msl/etfs_physical_wm_basket_us.asp">according to ETF Securities data</a>.

Despite the soaring popularity of precious metals ETFs in recent years, WITE has struggled to capture investors' attention. The fund has just over $34 million in AUM and average daily volume below 1,900 shares. That shows investors are missing out on a good thing as WITE is up nine percent year-to-date. 

PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>)
With almost $323 million in AUM, calling the PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund anonymous is a stretch. Overlooked might be the more appropriate descriptor. Where DBP differs from funds such as GLD and SLV is its fees. DBP charges 0.79 percent per year, which is high among metals funds, particularly when considering DBP has no storage costs.

Then again, futures-based exchange-traded products have a reputation for high fees and DBP does live up to that billing. The fund tracks the DBIQ Optimum Yield Precious Metals Index, which is 80 percent allocated to gold and 20 percent allocated to silver.

DBP is up 6.3 percent year-to-date, but that is barely better than GLD and more than 400 basis points worse than SLV. 

iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ring#NYSE">RING</a>)
The iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners Fund is another good example of a <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/markets/bonds/12/08/2856103/4-six-month-old-etfs-that-will-survive-and-thrive">new ETF that has shown it will be around for a while</a>, though it is debatable that many investors even know that much about this mining play. RING debuted in late January and now has $32.4 million in AUM.

That is not a bad haul, but that total also indicates RING has its hands full in terms of competing with GDX's first-to-market advantage. GDX and RING actually make for an interesting competition. RING's 0.39 percent expense ratio is 13 basis points below GDX's, but the Market Vectors fund has sharply outperformed the iShares ETF over the past three months.

At the very least, RING is off to a better start than the iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/slvp#NYSE">SLVP</a>). SLVP has made almost no inroads on the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sil#NYSE">SIL</a>), the dominant silver miners fund.

For more on mining ETFs, click <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/12/06/2647992/5-mining-etfs-your-broker-forgot-to-mention-psau-gldx-ring">here</a>.

New ETFs

Futures

Market Vectors ETF Trust Market Vectors Gold Miners

GDXJ

RING

SLVP

WITE

3 Precious Metals ETFs Your Broker Forgot to Mention

Alright, so today may not be the best day to extol the virtues of investing in precious metals as gold and silver have joined the broader market in the red, but the reality is gold's long-term uptrend remains in tact and silver has been a stout performer for several months now.

In fact, this could prove to be an ideal time for investors to remember that there is more to investing in precious metals ETFs than just the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gld#NYSE">GLD</a>) and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/slv#NYSE">SLV</a>). 

Yep, there's a slew of precious metals ETFs out there that don't grab a lot of headlines, but these funds are still worth a look at a time when gold and silver are perhaps the safest bets from the long side. Here are some precious metals ETFs your broker probably forgot to tell you about.

PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>):
Unlike GLD or SLV, DBP does not offer exposure to physical holdings of any metal. Rather, this ETF tracks the DBIQ Optimum Yield Precious Metals Index Excess Return, a rules based index comprised of gold and silver futures contracts. 

The futures play results in a high expense ratio of 0.75%, but it is worth noting that DBP falls right in the middle of performance when compared to GLD and SLV over the past three months, beating the latter slightly while lagging the former by a small amount.

FactorShares 2X Gold Bull/S&amp;P 500 Bear (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/fsg#NYSE">FSG</a>): 
Newly minted FSG, which debuted earlier this year, might be new and it might have high fees (it does at 0.75%), but it also might be the ideal way to play this current market environment. The new ETF is a a long play on gold futures and a short on the S&amp;P 500 eMini contract and the daily return is generated through the difference between those two contracts. Simply put, if you think gold will continue its bullish ways and there's another lost decade in store for the S&amp;P 500, FSG is your ETF.

ETFS Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gltr#NYSE">GLTR</a>):
Considering that GLTR has done an admirable job of attracting assets (about $270.5 million) and that the ETF is backed by physical holdings of not one, but four precious metals, this fund surprisingly flies under the radar. GLTR is heavily weighted to gold, then silver with a palladium and platinum kicker. That means the ETF can be used as a safe haven play while making a small bet on riskier fare through platinum and palladium. On the downside, GLTR has lagged GLD over the last three months.

Global X Gold Explorers ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gldx#NYSE">GLDX</a>):
GLDX made its debut in November 2010 and as gold miners have started to pick up their game in recent months, investors have started to take note of this unique Global X offering. With an expense ratio of 0.65%, GLDX has attracted $27.2 million in AUM, not a bad haul for less than a year on the block.

What makes GLDX truly interesting is that on the surface it would appear to be an ETF that holds typical fare of the gold mining universe. In reality, the 28 stocks GLDX holds are anything but “typical” or “standard.” That might be why the ETF is up 12% in the past month.

GLDX

Four Precious Metals ETFs Your Broker Forgot To Tell You About

Price was again all over the map after falling back from a 1/3rd+ retrace, setting the market up for a high-probability retest of the August lows. Whether or not that holds will continue to rely strongly on news flow, with a GDP report and Jackson Hole press conference on deck.
In the end, the S&amp;P 500 (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/spy#">SPY</a>) finished down -4.6% for the week, while both Precious Metals (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#">DBP</a>) and Treasuries (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/tlt#">TLT</a>) finished well over +5% higher. Price is becoming oversold in the equities camp, but not so much as to insulate against a strong momentum run lower, in my opinion.  On the other hand, the VIX is again quite bullishly over-stretched to the upside; however, that rubber band has become quite loose….
[<a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/c/ec/201134.html">Week 34 Economic Calendar</a>]
 
<a href="http://etfprophet.com/etf-rewind-retest-in-progress-week-33-08-19-11/week_33_11/" rel="attachment wp-att-16020"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16020" title="Week_33_11" src="http://etfprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Week_33_11.png" alt="" width="645" /></a> 
Source: <a href="http://etfprophet.com/mrkt-commentary/">Mrkt_Commentary</a> subscription service; <a href="http://etfprophet.com/category/weekly-etf-rewind/">prior weekly posts</a>.
NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE

iShares Trust Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund

ETF Rewind – Retest in Progress | Week 33 | 08.19.11

The following exchange traded funds reached new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading session, and the share price of each is more than 20% higher than at the beginning of the year.

FactorShares 2X: TBond Bull/S&amp;P500 Bear (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/fsa#NYSE">FSA</a>) is up more than 67% year to date. The underlying index is a spread index reflecting the difference in daily return between the U.S. equity and interest rate market segments by tracking a long position in the front month E-mini S&amp;P 500 Stock Price index futures and a short position in the front month U.S. Treasury bond futures. 

ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ugl#NYSE">UGL</a>) is up nearly 54% year to date. The investment seeks to provide daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of gold bullion as measured by the U.S. Dollar p.m. fixing price for delivery in London. It invests principally in combinations of swap agreements, futures contracts, forward contracts, and option contracts.

PowerShares DB Gold Double Long ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dgp#NYSE">DGP</a>) is up more than 52% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks to replicate twice the daily performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return. The index is comprised of a single unfunded gold futures contract.

ProShares Ultra 20+ Year Treasury (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ubt#NYSE">UBT</a>) is up more than 39% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of the Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index. The fund invests in U.S. Treasury securities and derivatives.

iPath Short Enhanced MSCI Emerging Markets ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/emsa#NYSE">EMSA</a>) is up more than 34% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks to replicate the leveraged return on the inverse performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Net Total Return index. The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index.

iPath Short Enhanced MSCI EAFE ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mfsa#NYSE">MFSA</a>) is up nearly 27% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks to replicate the leveraged return on the inverse performance of the MSCI EAFE Net Total Return index, which is designed to offer a representation of equity market performance of developed markets in Europe, Australasia and the Far East.

Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/edv#NYSE">EDV</a>) is up about 26% year to date. The fund invests at least 80% of assets in U.S. Treasury securities held in the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury STRIPS 2030 Year Equal Par Bond Index. The fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the index, which generally ranges between 20 and 30 years. 

iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iau#NYSE">IAU</a>) is up nearly 26% since the beginning of the year. The trust receives gold deposited with it in exchange for the creation of baskets of iShares, sells gold as necessary to cover the trust's liabilities, and delivers gold in exchange for baskets of iShares surrendered to it for redemption.

ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sgol#NYSE">SGOL</a>) is up almost 26% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks to replicate the performance of the price of gold bullion. The trust holds physical gold bullion and offers investors a cost-effective and convenient way to invest in gold with minimal credit risk.

SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gld#NYSE">GLD</a>) is up almost 26% year to date. The trust holds gold, and is expected to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of gold, and to distribute gold in connection with redemption of baskets. The gold held by the trust is only sold on an as-needed basis to pay trust expenses or as otherwise required by law or regulation.

PowerShares DB Precious Metals (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>) is up more than 25% year to date. The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Precious Metals Excess Return, a rules-based index composed of futures contracts on two of the most important precious metals: gold and silver.

RBS Gold Trendpilot ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tbar#NYSE">TBAR</a>) is up more than 25% year to date. The investment seeks to replicate the RBS Gold Trendpilot index (USD). The index utilizes a systematic trend-following strategy to provide exposure to either the price of gold bullion or the yield on a hypothetical notional investment in 3-month U.S. Treasury bills.

PowerShares DB Gold (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dgl#NYSE">DGL</a>) is up more than 25% since the beginning of the year. The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return, which is a rules-based index composed of futures contracts on gold.

PIMCO 15+ Year US TIPS Index ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ltpz#NYSE">LTPZ</a>) is almost 25% year to date. The fund invests at least 80% of assets in securities of the BofA Merrill Lynch 15+ Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Index. The index is an unmanaged index comprised of TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) with a maturity of at least 15 years.

EMSA

LTPZ

MFSA

TBAR

Fourteen ETFs Hitting 52-Week Highs

Here is the ETF Professor's ETF Watch List for Tuesday August 9, 2011.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/faz#NYSE">FAZ</a>) is a rocket ship too hard to ignore.

Safe haven plays: PowerShares DB Precious Metals (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>) and ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sivr#NYSE">SIVR</a>).

The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/moo#NYSE">MOO</a>) was blasted unmercifully on Monday.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xlu#NYSE">XLU</a>) was no safe haven on Monday.

Emerging markets plays of the day: ProShares UltraShort Brazil (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/bzq#NYSE">BZQ</a>), Direxion Daily India Bear 2X Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/indz#NYSE">INDZ</a>) and the Direxion Daily Latin America Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: LHB).

Forex play of the day: CurrencyShares Swiss France Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/fxf#NYSE">FXF</a>).

Bond play of the day: Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/bnd#NYSE">BND</a>).

Currency ETFs

Pre-Market Outlook

INDZ

ETFs To Watch August 9, 2011

In spite of a disappointing Friday Jobs report, equities were able to put in a holiday shortened Follow-Through-Week for +1.8% gain on the SPY (S&amp;P500) during Week 27, for a +4.4% gain over a four week period. 
With ten-month ranked leadership including the likes of Real Estate (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/iyr#">IYR</a>), Small Cap Growth (PXSG), and yes, Precious Metal (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#">DBP</a>), you'd never know that two weeks ago trader's were staring at the prospective abyss of a nascent bear market. With the jobs report and Italy now on deck, can market's maintain their mojo in the face of mixed earnings? I'm skeptical, but we're otherwise technically neutral with a slight bullish bent based on the long-term trend that remains in tact.
[<a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/c/ec/201128.html">Week 28 Economic Calendar</a>]
<a href="http://etfprophet.com/etf-rewind-week-27-07-08-11-f-t-w/week2711/" rel="attachment wp-att-15006"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15006" title="week2711" src="http://etfprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/week2711.png" alt="" width="645" /></a>Source: <a href="http://etfprophet.com/mrkt-commentary/">Mrkt_Commentary</a> subscription service; <a href="http://etfprophet.com/category/weekly-etf-rewind/">prior weekly posts</a>.

iShares Trust Dow Jones US Real Estate Fund Index

ETF Rewind – Week 27 | 07.08.11 | F-T-W

Play bin Laden's Capture With These ETFs

Not surprisingly, news of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. forces looks like it could send stocks soaring on Monday. Equity futures spiked Sunday while the news is weighing on oil. Some of the air is coming out of the gold trade and, if you can believe it, the dollar is rising.

In addition to gold, palladium and platinum are plunging as is silver, which was under substantial pressure before the bin Laden news broke. So we could see stocks and the dollar rally on Monday while leaving some of the precious metals that have been highly correlated to the S&amp;P 500 behind, for a day at least.

Use these ETFs to play enthusiasm surrounding the death of one of the world's most unsavory bad guys.

1) PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/uup#NYSE">UUP</a>):
For those choosing UUP as their weapon of choice as the “We got bin Laden” trade, be advised one day does not end a trend nor does it begin a new one. UUP has one of the ugliest charts out there as the dollar has been bludgeoned for months now, so the bin Laden news may mean nothing more than a couple days respite for the buck.

2) ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gll#NYSE">GLL</a>) and ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/zsl#NYSE">ZSL</a>):
Two of the most unthinkable trades for almost all of this year may finally have their day in the sun. Plus, ZSL is the better way of being short silver rather than directly shorting the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/slv#NYSE">SLV</a>), which has found its way to the Goldman Sachs hard-to-borrow list.

3) PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dto#NYSE">DTO</a>):
DTO is another trade that has to be timed just right and doing that has been difficult to say the least in recent weeks. This trade may extend for a few days, but don't get too greedy here and don't hold DTO for two months hoping oil will fall in a straight line.

4) PowerShares DB Precious Metals (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>) and the ETFS Physical Metals Precious Metals Basket (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gltr#NYSE">GLTR</a>): 
DBP and GLTR will probably be down on Monday, but the declines these high fliers see this week may represent entry points for astute traders.

5) iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/eem#NYSE">EEM</a>):
EEM is up almost 4% in the past month as emerging markets have been on a tear and the bin Laden news is just the type of headline that could provide a spark to the high beta emerging markets ETFs space. EEM is a buy above its 52-week high at $50.30.

Technicals

Events

PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN

PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund

Play bin Laden's Capture With These ETFs

Here is the ETF Professor's ETF Watch List for Monday May 2, 2011.

The Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/kol#NYSE">KOL</a>) has a strong chart and earnings reports on the horizon could boost this fund.

Oil plays: Teucrium Crude Oil Fund ETF (NYSE: CRUD) and the United States 12 Month Oil Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/usl#NYSE">USL</a>).

Watch the Guggenheim Global Solar Energy ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tan#NYSE">TAN</a>) for follow-through on Friday's M&amp;A news. 

The PowerShares DB Precious Metals (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#NYSE">DBP</a>) looks like it's ready to breakout.

Emerging markets plays of the day: iShares MSCI Peru All Capped Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/epu#NYSE">EPU</a>), iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tur#NYSE">TUR</a>) and the iShares MSCI Taiwan Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ewt#NYSE">EWT</a>).

Forex play of the day: ProShares UltraShort Euro (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/euo#NYSE">EUO</a>).

Bond play of the day: SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/jnk#NYSE">JNK</a>).

ETFs To Watch May 2, 2011 (EUO, EWT, CRUD, TAN)

PowerShares DBmmodity Index Optimum Yield Diversified Fund

iShares Trusthen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund

iShares Trust Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund

iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund

PowerShares Fundamental High Yieldorate Bond Portfolio

QQQQ

iShares Trust Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund

Commodities Withstood the Recent Market Selloff

Last week's market volatility is a good reminder on how precarious it is in commodity investing. For the week, broadbase commodity index ETF (DBC) dropped 3.09% while Gold (GLD) fared better, dropping only 0.81%. Agriculture commodity (DBA) dropped even more: 3.71%. For more detailed information, please refer to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/advanced__markets.action" target="_blank">here</a>.
 It is now generally recognized that adding commodity exposure in a long term portfolio that adopts a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/strategy/View.action?ID=771" target="_blank">strategic </a>asset allocation strategy can increase diversification effect and thus possibly improving risk adjusted returns. However, given the high volatitily (and risk) of commodities, it is important for an investor to understand the difference between a long only approach and long short approach in this asset investment. 
 A long only approach is simply just buying a commodity index such as Powershares DB Commodity Index ETF (DBC) or GSCI commodity index (GSG)  (or sub index such as agriculture (DBA), precious metal (DBP)). A long short approach, on the other hand, can take long and/or short positions on mutliple commodity components simultaneously. It is mostly based on technical indicators such as moving averages, momentums and reversals. This approach has been adopted by professional CTAs (Commodity Trading Advisors). A simple and popular strategy is the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/strategy/View.action?ID=476" target="_blank">S&amp;P Diversified Commodity Trend Indicators</a>. The following is a short description of the strategy:  The strategy is a simplified variation of  S&amp;P commodity trends indicator (CTI). It is a subset of the S&amp;P DTI by simply eliminating half of the financial assets.
<div>
1.The original asset allocation 
 
<table style="width: 378px;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="134" valign="top">
Energy  37.5%
</td>
<td width="242" valign="top">
Powershares DB Energy  (DBE)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="136" valign="top">
Industrial metal  10%
</td>
<td width="244" valign="top">
Powershares DB Base Metal  (DBB)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="138" valign="top">
Precious metal  10.5%
</td>
<td width="246" valign="top">
Powershares DB Precious Metal  (DBP)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="140" valign="top">
Agriculture  42%
</td>
<td width="248" valign="top">
Powershares DB Agriculture  (DBA)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2. Position determination 
The monthly percentage change of a sector's price is compared to past monthly price changes exponentially weighted to give greatest weight to the most recent return and least weight to the return seven months prior. 
The weights are as follows: 
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
NUMBER OF MONTHS
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
WEIGHT
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
7  
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
2.32%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
6
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
3.71%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
5
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
5.94%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
4
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
9.51%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
3
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
15.22%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
2
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
24.34%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="284" valign="top">
1
</td>
<td width="284" valign="top">
38.95%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
3. Monthly rebalancing 
The portfolio is rebalanced monthly by setting every sector to their original percentage and do the position determination again.
 For more information, please refer to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/CTI_Methodology.pdf" target="_blank">"Standard and Poor's Commodity Trend Indicator"</a> document. 
</div>
The following table compares the performance between such<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank"> S&amp;P Commodity Trend Indicators Portfolio (S&amp;PCTI)</a>  and a general broadbase commodity ETF (DBC):
<table border="1" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="15%">
 
</td>
<td valign="top">
Portfolio
</td>
<td>
Last 3 Years
</td>
<td>
Last 1 Years
</td>
<td>
2007
</td>
<td>
2008
</td>
<td>
2009
</td>
<td>
2010
</td>
<td>
2011
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td valign="top">
 
</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
AR(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
S&amp;PCTI
</td>
<td>
5.049
</td>
<td>
14.884
</td>
<td>
15.939
</td>
<td>
23.768
</td>
<td>
2.282
</td>
<td>
3.186
</td>
<td>
5.148
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
AR(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
DBC
</td>
<td>
-8.826
</td>
<td>
25.383
</td>
<td>
31.579
</td>
<td>
-31.799
</td>
<td>
16.187
</td>
<td>
10.154
</td>
<td>
7.695
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Sharpe Ratio(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
S&amp;PCTI
</td>
<td>
29.127
</td>
<td>
113.142
</td>
<td>
91.832
</td>
<td>
107.569
</td>
<td>
14.048
</td>
<td>
23.723
</td>
<td>
39.12
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Sharpe Ratio(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
DBC
</td>
<td>
-20.516
</td>
<td>
150.174
</td>
<td>
160.984
</td>
<td>
-97.51
</td>
<td>
58.736
</td>
<td>
52.501
</td>
<td>
415.108
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Standard Deviation(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
S&amp;PCTI
</td>
<td>
16.389
</td>
<td>
13.074
</td>
<td>
16.719
</td>
<td>
21.232
</td>
<td>
15.572
</td>
<td>
13.045
</td>
<td>
13.119
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Standard Deviation(%)
</td>
<td valign="top">
DBC
</td>
<td>
27.914
</td>
<td>
18.435
</td>
<td>
17.728
</td>
<td>
34.962
</td>
<td>
27.397
</td>
<td>
19.578
</td>
<td>
15.275
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
 Though <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank">S&amp;PCTI</a> under performed in 2009, 2010 and 2011, it out performed DBC in the last 3 years. This is because it had 23.8% return in 2008, compared with DBC's 31.6% loss in the same year. Furthermore,  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank">S&amp;PCTI</a> has a standard deviation 16%, compared with DBC's 28%. In fact,  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank">S&amp;PCTI</a>'s standard deviation is consistent with that of an overall stock market index such as S&amp;P 500 (SPY). 
 It is perhaps even more important to pay attention to maximum drawdowns for <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank">S&amp;PCTI</a>:  since its inception 10/1/2007 (this is due to the short histories of commodity ETFs used in this portfolio), the maximum drawdown is about 19% vs. DBC's whopping 60% (during the 2008-2009 detacle). 
 The takeaway from this article is that for active investors, one might want to consider adopting a more conservative approach in commodity exposures. Investors can find Element's ETN (LSC) or Direxion's Commodity Trend Strategy Inv (DXCTX) that implement the S&amp;P  Commodity Trend Indicators strategy. Before you invest, however, you are encouraged to compare the portfolio <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=3348" target="_blank">S&amp;PCTI</a>, LSC and DXCTX.
<div>In the follow up articles, we wil further compare how the long only and long short strategies can be used in strategic and tactical asset allocation portfolios. </div>
<div>
Symbols:<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=SLV&amp;count=0013'>SLV</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=DBP&amp;count=0014'>DBP</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=GLD&amp;count=0034'>GLD</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=DBB&amp;count=0014'>DBB</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=DBA&amp;count=0058'>DBA</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=DBC&amp;count=0087'>DBC</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=DBE&amp;count=0017'>DBE</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=USO&amp;count=0046'>USO</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=UNG&amp;count=0015'>UNG</a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol=SPY&amp;count=00120'>SPY</a>,
 Symbols (exchange): (NYSE:SLV), (NYSE:DBP), (NYSE:GLD), (NYSE:DBB), (NYSE:DBA), (NYSE:DBC), (NYSE:DBE), (NYSE:USO), (NYSE:UNG), (NYSE:SPY)
Disclosure:
MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical </div>
 
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Commodity Investing: Long Short (S&P Commodity Trend Indicators) vs. Long Only

ADRD

PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio

Merrill Lynch Retail HOLDRS Trust due 12/31/41

Alchemy Real-Time Stream From Monday, 10/11/10

An exchange-traded fund based on aluminum could launch as soon as next month, according to a Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg reported that the CEO of United Co. Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer, told reporters that the ETF would launch next month, and could help support metal prices as a hedge against currency and commodity price fluctuations.
There is no word on which firm will launch the ETF.
In the meantime, investors interested in metals ETFs have no shortage of options, according to the ETFChannel.com <a href="http://www.etfchannel.com/lists/?a=category&amp;c=Metals">Metals ETFs</a> category.
The SPDR S&amp;P Metals and Mining ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xme#NYSE">XME</a>) is trading lower by over 4.6% Tuesday. The DB Base Metals Fund (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbb#">DBB</a>) trades lower by over 3.6 percent while the DB Precious Metals Fund (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/dbp#">DBP</a>) is trading lower by nearly six tenths of a percent.
Contributed by: <a href="http://www.etfchannel.com>ETFChannel.com</a>

Aluminum ETF Reportedly Set to Launch

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
Citigroup Inc.’s (<a href="http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/C">C</a>) brokerage and securities arm, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., has been fined $$650,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The fine is due to disclosure and supervisory violations associated with the operation of its Direct Borrow Program (DBP). It was the first such enforcement action by FINRA involving a stock borrowing program.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">According to the investigations of FINRA, it was found that from Jan. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2008, Citigroup's DBP borrowed fully paid “hard-to-borrow" securities owned by the firm's customers. The borrowed securities were put in a pool of securities which helped in the execution of Citigroup’s clients’ short-selling strategies.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">The program arranged for over 4,000 loans relating to more than 770 different securities borrowed from more than 2,300 customers. The average annual value of outstanding loans from customers was $301 million.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">FINRA said that proper disclosures were not made by Citigroup to its customers who participated in this program. Citigroup did not reveal to the customers that the securities were hard-to-borrow, that interest rates could be lowered by the company and that the brokers earned commission on the loans outstanding. Neither did the customers know that the dividend could be subject to higher tax rates.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">FINRA also said that the program operated in the absence of any procedures for supervising the DBP staff and its brokers. Additionally, there was no system to effectively monitor the account of those customers who participated in this program.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">On Nov 30, 2008, Citigroup, however, suspended all new borrowing through this program and has returned all shares to the customers who had lent them. Citigroup has neither admitted nor denied the allegations by FINRA.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<a href="http://register.zacks.com/ucd/step1.php?ALERT=YAHOO_ZR&amp;d_alert=rd_final_rank&amp;ADID=GENSYND_ZER&amp;t=C">Read the full analyst report on "C"</a> <a href="http://www.zacks.com" alt="Investment Research">Zacks Investment Research</a>

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