Gold ETFs see a 7% decline in investment returns
06:26, 20 October 2021
Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen an average 7% decline in return on investment according to a report by market analyst Finbold.
The top seven gold ETFs in the US by highest average daily trading volume have returned an average of -7.41% on a year-to-date basis (as of 18 October).
SPDR Gold Shares, with 7.2 million daily traded shares, has the highest negative returns at -7.54%. Meanwhile, iShares Gold Trust, which has the highest number of daily traded shares among the selected ETFs, at 8.6 million, has returns of -7.24%.
SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust provided -7.44%, while Aberdeen Standard Physical GoldShares ETF had returns of -7.39
GraniteShares Gold Shares registered a return on investment of -7.36%; while Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF produced a -7.34% return on investment.
Gold price struggling to hit new highs
Finbold’s report partly attributes the negative ETF returns to struggling gold prices. According to the research: “Since hitting an all-time high price of above $2,000 (£1440) in August 2021, the price of gold has been struggling to hit a new high, partly contributing to the negative returns.
“In contrast, most analysts expected gold to find support from higher inflation, currency debasement, structural changes to asset allocation. The precious metal is also projected to find support in a possible high-interest environment.”
The report also suggests that the dwindling gold ETF returns might be due to emerging alternatives to the precious metal. Bitcoin has frequently been considered as an alternative to gold as a store of value.
Read more: US gold futures down for third session
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