Physical gold ETFs retreated over the past week. That situation has been particularly onerous for gold mining equities and ETFs.
The largest ETF backed by physical holdings of gold has more than tripled YTD returns of the S&P 500. Some investors may interpret that as meaning bullion's upside from here could be capped.
For some novice investors, gold can be a frustrating asset. There are examples of it not living up to its reputation as a hedging asset over shorter holding periods.
It's been a banner year for spot gold and shares of miners. That's reflected by the WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN).
Through nearly four months, it's clear gold is one this year's star assets. Just look at the largest ETF backed by physical holdings of the yellow metal.
Gold easily ranks among 2025's best-performing asset classes. Entering Tuesday, the largest bullion-backed ETF was sporting a 10.2% YTD gain.
Likely helped by President Trump's tariff initiatives, gold and related ETFs are on torrid paces to start 2025. Spot bullion and many of the ETFs are notching a series of record highs.
Over the weekend, President Trump announced plans to implement tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Those two countries are the biggest trading partners of the U.S. Those headlines had the predictable impact of pressuring equities, while boosting safe havens such as the dollar and gold.
Gold is one of 2024's best-performing assets. The largest ETFs offering exposure to physical gold and shares of miners are outpacing the S&P 500 by wide margins on a year-to-date basis.
The WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund offers leveraged exposure to the price of gold and the returns of gold miners, making it WisdomTree's top-performing ETF so far in 2024, as gold and mining equities have rallied. A weaker U.S. dollar, falling bond yields and rising central bank purchases are driving gold prices higher, benefiting gold miners, which often act as an accentuated play on the metal's price action. With operational costs for gold miners set to decrease and margins expected to expand, investors may find GDMN a compelling option for capturing both gold's appreciation and miners' improving profitability.
With some favorable economic data and intensifying speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, gold prices rose last Friday.