Commodities and Gold

Introducing a Quiet Gold Fund

Today’s ETF Talk features the iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners Fund (RING), a solid, serviceable gold mining fund that offers investors all the advantages and disadvantages that they might expect of a precious metals fund. RING is part of the same family of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (SLVP), a silver fund that was featured in my previous ETF Talk.

Structurally, the two funds are very similar. Both invest in diversified precious metals portfolios all over the world. RING’s portfolio consists of close to 40 different positions from many countries, including top holdings in Canada, South Africa and Australia.

Year to date, RING has achieved a gain of 77.92%. This is a strong gain compared to the general market, considering S&P 500’s year-to-date gain is only 2.51%, but comparable to the performance of other gold funds in the same period.

In light of recent stronger performance and good news from the overall market, RING’s performance has petered out a bit, as it has fallen by 3.18% over the last month.

The fund pays a 0.50% dividend yield and its expense ratio is 0.39%.

View the current price, volume, performance and top 10 holdings of RING at ETFU.com.

RING’s top 10 holdings are Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), 15.01%; Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), 12.97%; Goldcorp Inc. (G), 10.14%; Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM), 7.44%; Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), 4.75%; AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG), 4.68%; RandGold Resources Ltd. (RRS), 4.27%, Kinross Gold Corp (K), 4.18%, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI), 3.99%; and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), 3.03%.

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RING differs from some funds in that the companies it invests in do not always have their performances closely linked to the underlying price of gold.

If you are bullish on gold and wish to invest into a relatively stable fund without immense risk, I encourage you to take a closer look at iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners Fund (RING) on your own.

If you want my advice about buying and selling specific ETFs, including appropriate stop losses, please consider subscribing to my Successful ETF Investing newsletter.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an e-mail. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Doug Fabian

Doug Fabian is the Editor of Weekly ETF Report, a free weekly e-newsletter, and the newsletter Successful ETF Investing. He’s also the host of the syndicated radio show, “Doug Fabian’s Wealth Strategies.” Doug also edits the fast-paced trading service ETF Trader’s Edge, for investors who want to take their profits to the next level. Taking over the reins from his dad, Dick Fabian, back in 1992, Doug has continued to uphold the reputation of the newsletter as the #1 risk-adjusted market timer as ranked by Hulbert’s Investment Digest. Doug became a member of the “SmartMoney 30” in 1999 — a listing of the most influential individuals in the mutual fund industry. In the feature, SmartMoney magazine exclaims that Doug is the best-known “trend follower” among the $56 billion (and growing) group of financial advisors. In 2001, Doug wrote “Maverick Investing,” published by McGraw-Hill. He also regularly appears at seminars around the country, stands out on the pages of the largest newspapers (The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times), and speaks on national television (CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Forum). For more than 35 years, Successful ETF Investing (formerly the Telephone Switch Newsletter and Successful Investing) has produced double-digit percentage annual gains. Doug has become known for his expert knowledge and timely use of innovative tools, such as exchange-traded funds, bear funds, and enhanced-index funds to profit in any market climate. For more information about Doug’s services, go to http://www.fabian.com/