Which is the best gold ETF available today? Gold as an investment has become extremely popular given the global financial fears and dwindling faith of investors in fiat currencies. As a result numerous investment companies (more than a dozen in fact) have created a variety of both leveraged and unleveraged ETFs (exchange traded funds) focusing on either gold specifically as an asset or on a combination of gold and other precious metals assets.
Most people with an even vague interest in finding the best gold ETF brands available today should be familiar with the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD). This has been the benchmark or standard fund which the majority of investors interested in making small investments in "gold" today would be familiar with. On the other hand even a little research will find other (equal or better performing) brands in the space, namely those such as the iShares Gold Trust (IAU), UBS E-tracs and the Powershares DB Gold. Any or all of these funds are performing at a clip equal to or better than the S&P 500 in 2011, although all of them are off their highs of the year. Returns in 2011 on these funds are expected to fall in the range of 12-13% based on current YTD figures, but if history is any indicator returns in the future will remain volatile.
In the menu to the left and down you'll find a series of other alternative ways to participate in gold and commodities investing less directly. Many investors find the lure of trading gold binary options as a good way to capitalize on the volatility of these investments without necessarily taking a long term stake in them. Investors desiring exposure also may opt for options contracts offered on some of the major best gold ETF brands. Some other investors have had mixed results with investments in gold miner ETFs, whose returns are based on longer term operating factors such as recovery and extraction costs. Many peope have also historically tried to make money buying gold coins as well.
So which is the best gold ETF for investors now? Based on current returns it's fair to say that the major brands have outperformed some of the fringe funds at least for this year - but any signs of a strengthening US dollar will impact returns adversely of any or all of the best gold ETF funds regardless of individual funds selected (more information on gold price history). In the following weeks and months we'll look at more detailed reviews of the major funds mentioned in this article - including the Gold SPDR Trust, the iShares Gold Trust, the Powershares DB Trust and the like. As previously mentioned, there seem to be three or four top performing gold ETFs and then a series of also rans - among them several leveraged funds.