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Gold Posts Best Weekly Gain in 2-Years: ETFs to Ride

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Gold has been shining brightly this year, logging in its biggest weekly gain since July 2020. The flight to safety amid geopolitical tensions as well as inflationary fears have raised the demand for the yellow metal, pushing up the gold price. Gold futures jumped 4.2% last week and is heading toward $2,000 per ounce (read: Leveraged Gold ETFs to Play on Russia-Ukraine Tensions).  

Investors seeking to make the most of opportune moment could bet on ETFs directly linked to the spot gold price or futures. While there are many options, we have highlighted the five popular ETFs that could be the compelling choices to tap the gold rally. These include SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD - Free Report) , iShares Gold Trust (IAU - Free Report) , SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM - Free Report) , Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF (SGOL - Free Report) , and iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM - Free Report) .

Solid Macro Trends

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospect of a war, thereby boosting the demand for safe haven gold. Gold is often used as a means of preserving wealth during times of financial and political uncertainty. It usually does well when other asset classes struggle. Additionally, gold price has been boosted by the lastest jobs data report, which shows a slowdown in wage growth.

Further, inflation has also emerged as a primary concern for investors, lifting the appeal for the bullion as an inflation hedge. The consumer price index jumped 7.5% year over year in January, marking the largest 12-month gain since February 1982. The oil price surge is not showing any signs of cooling, thereby stoking concerns about global growth and further inflation risks.

Given the combination of factors, holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by the metal has climbed to the highest since March last year and hedge fund managers boosted their net bullish gold bets to a 19-month high. However, the Fed is on track to raise interest rates at this month’s FOMC meeting. This could keep the gold price at check.

SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD - Free Report)

SPDR Gold Trust ETF tracks the price of gold bullion measured in U.S. dollars, and kept in London under the custody of HSBC Bank USA. It is an ultra-popular gold ETF with AUM of $65 billion and heavy volume of about 11 million shares a day (read: Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate: 3 ETFs to Buy).

SPDR Gold Trust ETF charges 40 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook.

iShares Gold Trust (IAU - Free Report)

iShares Gold Trust offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. It is backed by physical gold under the custody of JP Morgan Chase Bank in London.

Though iShares Gold Trust charges little higher 25 bps in ananul fees, it is liquid and popular, trading in average daily volumes of 15 million shares. The product has AUM of $31 billion and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM - Free Report)

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. It is a slightly modified alternative to the State Street behemoth gold fund SPDR Gold Trust ETF and holds roughly 1/10th as much gold per share.  

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust is the low-cost choice in the U.S. listed physically gold-backed ETF space, charging investors 10 bps in annual fees. It has $4.7 billion in AUM and trades in a solid average daily volume of 4.2 million shares. SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF (SGOL - Free Report)

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF tracks the price of gold bullion. The Trust holds allocated physical gold bullion bars stored in secure vaults in Zurich, Switzerland and London, United Kingdom (read: Gold on Track for Best Month Since May: 5 ETFs Shining).

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF has amassed $2.7 billion in its asset base and trades in a solid volume of 2 million shares per day. It is among one of the lowest-cost choices in the space with an expense ratio of 0.17%. Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.

iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM - Free Report)

iShares Gold Trust Micro offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion.

iShares Gold Trust Micro is also among the lowest cost gold ETFs on the market having an expense ratio of 0.15%. It has amassed $1.3 billion in its asset base since its inception in June last year, while trades in an average daily volume of 567,000 shares.

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