Money Pours Into Precious Metals Funds

Investors continued to pour into precious metals in March, adding a hefty $1.2 billion into the mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that concentrate on the specialty sector.

That brought the total flow of cash into the subsector for the first quarter to $3.6 billion as investors sought safe-haven assets amid the ongoing credit crisis, which brought investment bank Bear Stearns(BSC Quote) to its knees, surviving only after a rescue by JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote).

But funds that solely held the metal won out over those that owned shares of mining companies by a factor of more than 5 to 2, according to the most recent data from Boston-based company Financial Research Corporation.

Topping the list of winners, as it did every month last quarter, was the streetTracks Gold Shares(GLD Quote) ETF, which solely owns bars of gold bullion, taking in a net $590 million. The other two precious-metals bullion funds, iShares Silver Trust(SLV Quote) and iShares Comex Gold Trust(IAU Quote), added $140 million and $139 million respectively, bringing the total added to the bullion group to $869 million. ...