World Gold Council launches new gold ETF?

The World Gold Council has plans to launch a new gold ETF that charges less fees than the existing GLD, according to reports Reuters. The new gold fund will have to compete with other investment products that offer the precious metal at a lower price and that have gained a lot of market share in recent years in a market that was first dominated by the SPDR Gold Trust, which is known among gold investors as the GLD.

Ten years ago, the SPDR Gold Trust held 75% of the market, but now its market share has fallen well below 50%. This is partly due to costs, because with a management fee of 0.4% on an annual basis, the shares of this gold ETF are almost as expensive to hold as 'allocated' physical gold, which is segregated and stored by name. More European providers have also entered the market, allowing European investors to invest directly in gold with their own currency.

Not much is known about this new gold ETF yet, other than that the fees will be 0.25% per annum. The World Gold Council Didn't want to comment on the latest rumors, but it is known that the company registered a new ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November. The new gold fund, whose name has not yet been announced, is expected to be launched in the second quarter.

Total gold stocks ETFs are increasing, but GLD is losing market share (Source: World Gold Council)

Physical Gold vs Gold ETFs

A gold ETF manages a large pile of gold that you, as an investor, can become a co-owner of by buying the shares of the ETF. These shares are traded on the stock exchange, which means that you cannot physically dispose of the precious metal. You also have counterparty risk, because you are dependent on a broker and a bank to take your assets out of the ETF.

Physical gold, on the other hand, can actually be owned by you, without a counterparty in between. Do you want Buy physical gold, you can always decide to take it to a safe storage location later. AunexumSafe specializes in the storage of precious metals and can help you keep your gold and silver safe. For more information, please visit www.aunexumsafe.nl.