Gold Funds Jump on Record Prices
On Thursday, the price of gold set a new all time high of $958.40 per ounce. The average precious-metals fund we track climbed 5.81% for the five trading days ending Feb. 21.
Source: Bloomberg |
The higher price for gold boosted the fourth-quarter performance, before one-time charges, for the largest gold miners
Barrick Gold
(ABX)
,
Newmont Mining Corp
(NEM) - Get Report
and
Goldcorp
(GG)
above analyst estimates.
All of these are holdings of
ProFunds Precious Metals UltraSector ProFund
(PMPIX) - Get Report
PMPIX, which jumped 11.93% for the period under review. This open-end fund is leveraged 150% to the mining shares in the Dow Jones Precious Metals Index. Of the top ten members of the index, the biggest winners were
Harmony Gold Mining
(HMY) - Get Report
, up 19.84%;
Gold Fields
(GFI) - Get Report
, up 15.65%; and
Goldcorp
(GG)
, up 12.48%.
In second place is
ASA Ltd
(ASA) - Get Report
, a closed-end, gold mining share fund up 7.77% for the week. A close third place goes to
GAMCO Gold Fund
(GOLDX) - Get Report
earning a total return of 7.54%. GAMCO's best performing holdings include
New Gold
(NGD) - Get Report
up 36.96%,
Gammon Gold
(GRS)
up 32.40%, and Harmony Gold Mining up 19.84%.
Best Performing Precious Metals Funds
Ranked by returns for the week ending February 21
Fund | Ticker | Rating | Fund Type | 1 Week Total Return |
ProFunds Precious Metals UltraSector ProFund | PMPIX | C- | Open-End | 11.93% |
ASA Ltd | ASA | C+ | Closed-End | 7.77% |
GAMCO Gold Fund Inc | GOLDX | C+ | Open-End | 7.54% |
DWS Gold & Precious Metals Fund | SCGDX | C | Open-End | 7.22% |
Midas Fund | MIDSX | B | Open-End | 7.20% |
Rydex Series - Precious Metals Fund | RYPMX | C+ | Open-End | 7.06% |
American Century Global Gold Fund | BGEIX | C+ | Open-End | 7.01% |
RiverSource Precious Metals and Mining Fund | INPMX | C- | Open-End | 6.98% |
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF | GDX | B+ | ETF | 6.95% |
Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund | INIVX | C | Open-End | 6.72% |
Source: Bloomberg.
For an explanation of our ratings,
click here.
The
ING Global Natural Resources Fund
(LEXMX)
underperformed this week due to a share allocation of 51.5% oil and gas, 21.0% mining, and 14.8% oil & gas services. Last week, when crude oil topped $100, was the time to be concentrated in "black gold." This was the week for yellow gold.
As usual, the bullion funds directly tracking the price of precious metals lagged the leverage performance of the mining shares.
Worst-Performing Precious Metals Funds
Ranked by returns for the week ending February 21
Fund | Ticker | Rating | Fund Type | 1 Week Total Return |
ING Global Natural Resources Fund | LEXMX | B- | Open-End | 2.55% |
Gabelli Global Gold Natural Res & Inc Trust | GGN | B+ | Closed-End | 2.68% |
PowerShares DB Silver Fund | DBS | A+ | ETF | 3.32% |
iShares Silver Trust | SLV | B- | ETF | 3.56% |
PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund | DBP | A+ | ETF | 3.88% |
Streettracks Gold Trust | GLD | A+ | ETF | 3.95% |
iShares COMEX Gold Trust | IAU | A+ | ETF | 3.96% |
PowerShares DB Gold Fund | DGL | A+ | ETF | 3.97% |
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF | XME | B+ | ETF | 4.05% |
US Global Investors Gold and Precious Metals | USERX | B | Open-End | 4.76% |
Source: Bloomberg.
For an explanation of our ratings,
click here.
The U.S. dollar seems poised to return to its long-term downward trend against the major world currencies. As that happens, I would not be surprised to see gold top $1,000 per ounce over the next year.
Kevin Baker became the senior financial analyst for TSC Ratings upon the August 2006 acquisition of Weiss Ratings by TheStreet.com, covering mutual funds. He joined the Weiss Group in 1997 as a banking and brokerage analyst. In 1999, he created the Weiss Group's first ratings to gauge the level of risk in U.S. equities. Baker received a B.S. degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. with a finance specialization from Nova Southeastern University.
