Gold easily beats silver and bronze since Beijing Olympics ...

Investors who backed gold at the time of the Beijing Olympics have easily beaten those who went for silver and bronze.

As Britain waits for golden girl Rebecca Adlington to defend her Beijing gold in the 800 metres freestyle on Friday, those who bought gold when she won her last top gong have already won the race to pick the best return for precious metals.

Since the Beijing Olympics both the gold and silver price (as measured by spot prices) have increased, according to investment data provider Financial Express.

It says the S&P GSCI Gold Spot Index is up 87.64% in US dollar terms from 8 August 2008 to 27 July 2012, while the S&P GSCI Silver Spot Index is up 78.74%. However, the S&P GSCI Copper Spot is up just 1.56% over the period (bronze being an alloy of copper).

Winning funds

The research shows investors who chose to invest in gold by opting for a fund involved in its mining and processing have also done well. Investec Global Gold is up 31.4% over the four-year period, while BlackRock Gold & General rose 34.98% and Smith & Williamson Global Gold & Resources is up 57.67%.

Financial Express says trying to find funds exposed to silver and copper is less easy, although BlackRock Gold & General has a large investment in a silver mining company known as Fresnillo.

It adds copper miners are held by at least five funds including JPMorgan Global Mining, which has a stake in Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold.

Solid gold

Those who wanted to buy the metal rather than funds investing in mining companies could do so through exchange traded commodities (ETCs). These are a form of index fund with the price reflecting the rise and fall in the commodity price.

ETF Securities Physical Gold is up 127.58% since the Beijing Olympics. ETF Securities Physical Silver is up 115.88% over the same period. These commodity ETCs have beaten the managed funds because the prices of the actual metals have outstripped those of the companies excavating and selling them.

But Rob Gleeson, head of Financial Express research, cautioned: ?Investors should remember gold is primarily a crisis asset; it produces no income and is not demanded in sufficient quantities as a raw material to drive prices.

What it does do well is to make people feel better when other assets seem uncertain. With gold already close to an all-time high, you have to wonder where the growth is going to come from. How much worse can things really get??

Source : Investments.co.uk

Source: http://www.alternativeoutlook.co.uk/2012/08/gold-easily-beats-silver-and-bronze-since-beijing-olympics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gold-easily-beats-silver-and-bronze-since-beijing-olympics

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