Stocks & ETFunds

If some of the world’s largest investment funds decided to make even a small increase in their allocation to physical gold and gold stocks it would be like trying to drain Niagara Falls with a fire hose. Just a small percentage increase in allocation towards gold and gold stocks among global fund managers would make gold stocks double… and then double again… and double again.

One cliché I despise is, “it takes money to make money.” True, you can’t create money out of nothing (unless you’re the U.S. Federal Reserve), but it implies that only the rich can truly prosper. While that was true in regards to investing in stocks many years ago that certainly is not the case today. Here's why.

The most common misunderstandings regarding the primary gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) is that it buys and sells gold. That is not the case. It is just a paper asset. It is not a way to buy gold and have someone else store your holdings for you. It is just an innovative way to “own gold.” Below I outline more of just what GLD is and is not.

While ETFs offer numerous advantages over traditional actively-managed mutual funds and individual stocks - near total transparency, intraday trading, and a (generally) more straightforward tax situation - they aren’t foolproof, and there are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes while investing in ETFs. Words: 1991

Building your portfolios with low-cost, tax-efficient ETFs is a smart strategy but don't set it on auto pilot. Follow these 10 ETF investment rules to build a global portfolio that will beat the benchmarks.

9 years ago, Warren Buffett made a $500,000 bet that a simple index fund would outperform an actively managed hedge fund run by expert investors and it did for one or more of the 3 reasons outlined in this insightful article.

Whether you’re already an ETF investor or have just been hearing about them, you may be curious to know more or understand them better. Here are 5 questions (and brief answers) to help you get started.

I have always been leery of the two big exchange traded funds, SLV and GLD, because they lease the gold and silver that they sell you. I much prefer the ETFs SGOL, CEF, PSVL and PHYS which actually own the gold and silver they sell you and store it for you segregated vaults. Words: 717

Investing in some form of precious metals is the preferable way to protect oneself from rising inflation/decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar and here are 10 ETFs and ETNs and 5 mutual funds to do just that. Words: 879

If you’re a day trader — someone who watches the market minute-by-minute and closes out your positions every evening — then leveraged ETFs can be a great tool. They can also be useful over longer periods if you know what to expect and watch your ETFs like a hawk, or if you have someone trustworthy watching them for you. Words: 574