Vanguard Gold / Silver ETF

[Zman]

Is there one? I think I found an index fund that holds significant gold but what about an ETF? (Such as GLD / SLV)

Also, is there a guide to ETFs in this forum? I know theres something on the vanguard site that gives info

[themagicman]

I don't think there is and doubt there ever will be. Vanguard hates precious metals. Schwab and Ishares have some low cost options I think

[brotatochip]

 VGPMX is as close as you're going to get.  It's a mining stock index fund.

[JinBoston]

You know you can't invest in gold, right?  You can speculate on it, or hedge with it, but it doesn't actually do anything but sit there and look pretty.  Which is why it is great for jewelry.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

Outside Vanguard, there's SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) at 0.40% yearly fee and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) with an 0.25% expense ratio.

Gold mining companies can move differently than actual gold.  See 2008 performance of VGPMX vs IAU for example.

[TomTX]

You know you can't invest in gold, right?  You can speculate on it, or hedge with it, but it doesn't actually do anything but sit there and look pretty.  Which is why it is great for jewelry.

++

We do have something like an ounce of gold and 10 oz of silver in the safety deposit box at the credit union (interestingly, that's cheaper than the ETFs quoted here) along with the will and such.  Leftovers from years ago.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

For one gold coin ($1065/oz today), an ETF is cheaper than a deposit box.  The iShares Gold Trust charges fees equal to 1/400th each year, or about $2.50/year for a $1065 investment.  If a safe deposit box is about $40/year, the break even point is about a pound of gold (16 x $1065 x 0.0025 = $43).