Looking for a Great Track Record? Look at SPDR Gold Shares

Spot silver prices are fighting hard. The commodity started the year strong, getting close to $38.00 an ounce, only to retreat with gold prices and consolidate all summer. Now silver has crept up to the $34.00-per-ounce level, and $35.00 an ounce seems just around the corner, with gold prices now holding around $1,750. Many gold and silver mining companies struggled on the stock market this year, due to the swing in spot prices and the rising costs of production. Very few producing miners have done well on the stock market this year, whereas most did well in 2011. If you’re a gold (and silver) bug, there’s a lot to be said about an instrument like the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca/GLD), which is a gold trust exchange-traded fund (ETF). Held in the form of 400-ounce gold bars, the gold itself is kept in vaults stored in London. It is currently worth approximately $75.0 billion in U.S. do...