World’s largest gold ETF enjoying record year

2016 has already been a heck of a year for SPDR Gold Shares

One of the world’s largest gold ETFs is having a heck of a year so far.

After weathering three years of declining gold prices, SPDR Gold Shares is having its best year ever, according to a Mining.com report. So far this year, the fund’s assets under management have risen by $18.5 billion.

SPDR Gold Shares is a giant among physically backed exchange-traded gold products. It holds 48.8% of the global total – about 950 tonnes, currently worth about $40.3 billion, Mining.com reported. The company’s holdings have shot up by 308 tonnes this year alone, hitting their highest level since July of 2013.

SPDR Gold Shares’ performance so far this year has been even better than in 2009 and 2010, when investors caught up in the financial meltdown rushed to gold.

Gold ETFs are responsible for a large part of the metal’s 12-year bull run, because ETFs make investing in gold easy. Launched 18 months after the first physically backed gold ETF, SPDR Gold Shares quickly dominated the market.

The company was even the largest ETF in the world at one point – for about a day. On Aug. 22, 2011, when gold hit record highs above $1,900 per ounce, SPDR Gold Shares hit a net asset value of $77.5 billion, briefly surpassing the SPDR S&P 500 trust.


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