MM Money

Gold ETF Could Open Door To Commodities

Excerpt: With the ETF market maturing and many analysts forecasting single-digit average returns for U.S. stocks and bonds over the next few years, investment managers are pushing for new asset classes.

In just its first three days of trading, the StreetTracks Gold Trust (GLD: news, chart, profile) gathered $1.3 billion in assets, according to investment research firm TrimTabs.

"There's been nothing like it in the history of ETFs," said Carl Wittnebert, TrimTabs' director of research. "The spectacular success of this fund guarantees creation of more commodity-backed ETFs in the near future."

Although the way seems clear for more precious metal funds and ETFs tracking broad baskets of commodities, oil ETFs pose regulatory hurdles along with high costs for storing and insuring the black gold.

"Each different commodity has its own particular issues that will be dealt with one at a time," said Cliff Weber, senior vice president of the ETF Marketplace at the American Stock Exchange. "I don't have a good sense when they will come out, but I don't think it will be anytime soon."

"Oil is tricky because of the storage, transportation, and insurance issues," added Jim Pacetti, head of consulting firm ETF International.

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