Latest news with #GLD
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trump, coin, your 401k: ETFs are one way to trade crypto for long-term investing
Since Donald Trump was reelected as president, Washington, D.C., has made many moves to become friendlier with the world of cryptocurrency. From new laws to executive orders, the Trump administration and Congress are moving quickly to make the U.S. a leader in digital assets innovation. Another example arrived on Thursday when Trump said he would sign an EO that mandates the inclusion of crypto in retirement plans. Is it a good thing? Some advisors, led most notably by Ric Edelman, say that investors should hold as much as 40% of their portfolio in digital assets (primarily replacing bonds). That's a big move, as just a few years ago, Edelman recommended as little as 1% in crypto like bitcoin and ethereum. Other advisors say the risks outweigh the potential benefits. Cryptocurrency isn't new, with a history now dating back almost two decades, but it continues to disrupt the markets. Cryptocurrency ETFs are one example, experiencing explosive growth, all the while evolving at a rapid pace in investment strategy. Crypto ETFs have seen record inflows this year, at roughly $13 billion, making them one of the most popular portfolio choices within the ETF universe, and led by flagship bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Ethereum ETFs are growing too, with Van Eck's Ethereum ETF (ETHV) now over $200 million in assets. ETFs offer convenience for the long-term investor as a way to gain exposure to the asset class without holding an underlying cryptocurrency and needing to open a crypto wallet or use a crypto exchange. It's like owning a gold ETF, such as GLD, rather than actually owning the metals contract. "From our perspective, demand is really strong, investors are really interested," said Eric Pan, CEO of ICI, the fund industry trade association, on a recent edition of CNBC's "ETF Edge." "And we have a new regulatory environment here in Washington that is encouraging this kind of innovation," Pan added. Bitcoin and ethereum have generated strong returns, though not without their fair share of volatility to match the gains. For example, IBIT and ETHV have generated roughly 20% and 11% in returns year-to-date, respectively. July was a winning month, in particular, for ether and bitcoin ETFs, which have had $5 billion and $6 billion inflows during the month, out of a ETF industry cumulative haul of $55 billion in net new money from investors. But within the world of retirement plans, access to crypto ETFs remains limited. Retirement plans that offer self-directed brokerage window options alongside company-sponsored 401(k)s and individual IRAs already offer investors ways to invest in crypto like bitcoin. But as more crypto ETFs hit the market, it also ratchets up the risk for investors if they don't distinguish carefully between the options. One of those evolutions within crypto space has been leveraged funds, which provide double or triple exposure to individual digital currencies, such as the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (XXRP), which provides double exposure to Ripple's XRP. Leveraged and inverse ETFs have ballooned as an asset class, offering a way for traders to make big bets on some of the market's most popular assets, like tech stocks, whether they want to bet the asset is going to increase or decrease in value on any given day. But these types of funds are not meant for the faint of heart, the risk-averse, or, most importantly, to be held as a long-term investments. "This is an aggressive product, it's leveraged, it's not designed to be bought and held, it's designed to be traded each day," said Sal Gilberte, Teucrium Trading's president, on the recent edition of CNBC's "ETF Edge." Similar funds, such as ProShares Ultra XRP ETF (UXRP) and the Volatility Shares Trust XRP ETFs (XRPI & XRPT), rely on derivatives rather than holding XRP outright. The exposure provided via such funds comes at a lower cost than buying equivalent holdings. While leverage funds offer the potential for big returns, double or triple the market return, they also increase the risk factor, which is why investors need to be savvy and "understand what they're owning", Gilberte said. Losses can multiply quickly. If investors are looking for a steady exposure to crypto, non-leveraged crypto ETFs such as iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF or VanEck Ethereum ETF might be better options. "They should buy a fund that just holds the token, and goes up and down with the token very smoothly with no leverage whatsoever," Gilberte said. Disclaimer
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
A look at the gold charts and whether the precious metal can add to its record-setting gains
There's been a lot of chatter around gold lately—and much of it hasn't been bullish. That's largely because gold (and, as a result, the GLD Gold ETF ) has failed to reclaim its April highs. But let's zoom out. Back in October 2023, soon after GLD bottomed, we began tracking the performance spread between GLD and the S & P 500 . Up until the end of 2024, the performances were remarkably even. They didn't move in lockstep the entire time, but they didn't drift far apart either. That changed in December. Gold took off while the SPX sputtered — before ultimately collapsing through the first week of April. By early April, the spread had widened to nearly over 100%. It looked like a runaway train—until the stock market's historic pivot. Thanks to the epic equity comeback, that spread has since been cut in half and then some. The question — especially for gold investors — is whether a further reversion to the mean is next. Importantly, though, this recent bout of relative weakness hasn't been because GLD cratered. Instead, it's been a massive rotation back into equities. So, do we really need stocks to fall apart again for gold to move higher? On the surface, that makes sense. But as noted above, for over a year, both SPX and gold rallied together. And during that stretch, both were taking advantage of bullish chart setups. In fact, over the last year, GLD broke out of five bullish patterns. The sixth one has been under construction since April—and so far, we haven't seen a breakout. That's been frustrating, but the more times that 315-zone is tested without subsequently breaking down, the greater the odds it eventually gives way. Turning to the GLD/SPX relative ratio, the recent reversal occurred near the same trendline that capped prior rallies — twice before. Each of those prior peaks was followed by a long period of underperformance. For things to play out differently this time, we'll need to see a higher low—and a good place for that to happen is near the yellow highlighted support area from recent years. Also worth watching: the 14-week RSI of the GLD/SPX ratio, which is trying to hold near the 50-level. If that area can serve as a floor, it would support another leg of relative outperformance. Lastly, from a big-picture perspective, gold gained roughly +240% from its 2015 low to its 2025 high. That's impressive—but still well below the +700% and +650% moves from the 1970s and early 2000s, respectively. There's no guarantee we see a repeat of those historic runs—but one thing is clear from the chart: Gold trends for extremely long periods. And from that angle, this time has been no different. DISCLOSURES: None. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gold Set to Shine Again: ETFs to Tap the Momentum
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research Reports iShares Gold Trust (IAU): ETF Research Reports abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL): ETF Research Reports SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Observer
03-08-2025
- Science
- Observer
Swiss glaciers suffer rapid ice loss following weak winter snowfall
GENEVA: Switzerland's glaciers are melting at an alarming pace this year, with scientists warning that the loss of ice cover began weeks earlier than usual due to a snow-poor winter. Glacier Loss Day (GLD) is marked every year by researchers in Switzerland. It represents the point when a glacier has melted away all the snow and ice it gained during the winter. Depending on the glacier, it arrived as early as late June or early July this year. 'In some regions in north-eastern Switzerland, we've never had such a small amount of snow on the glaciers at the end of winter', researcher Andreas Bauder of ETH Zurich said of the mountain conditions going into the summer months. 'As long as there is snow on the ground, the ice won't melt. But this year, the snow melt began at the end of May and continued rapidly throughout June and into July', he said. In Switzerland, snow and ice cover are measured in detail every spring and fall on about 20 of the country's roughly 1,400 glaciers. Between 10 and 15 of those are also monitored during the summer. These observations are used to determine the Glacier Loss Day. Looking back to last year, the summer began with much larger snow reserves than this year, according to Bauder. Even so, glaciers still lost more mass in 2024 than they gained during the winter, leading them to shrink. 'In the past, Glacier Loss Day usually came at the end of August or early September-but we haven't seen that in the past 20 years', said Bauder. — dpa
Al Etihad
02-08-2025
- Science
- Al Etihad
Swiss glaciers suffer rapid ice loss following weak winter snowfall
2 Aug 2025 09:54 GENEVA (dpa)Switzerland's glaciers are melting at an alarming pace this year, with scientists warning that the loss of ice cover began weeks earlier than usual due to a snow-poor Loss Day (GLD) is marked every year by researchers in Switzerland. It represents the point when a glacier has melted away all the snow and ice it gained during the on the glacier, it arrived as early as late June or early July this year.'In some regions in north-eastern Switzerland, we've never had such a small amount of snow on the glaciers at the end of winter,' researcher Andreas Bauder of ETH Zurich told dpa of the mountain conditions going into the summer months.'As long as there is snow on the ground, the ice won't melt. But this year, the snowmelt began at the end of May and continued rapidly throughout June and into July,' he Switzerland, snow and ice cover are measured in detail every spring and fall on about 20 of the country's roughly 1,400 glaciers. Between 10 and 15 of those are also monitored during the summer. These observations are used to determine the Glacier Loss Switzerland's largest glaciers are the Aletsch and Gorner glaciers. Looking back to last year, the summer began with much larger snow reserves than this year, according to Bauder. Even so, glaciers still lost more mass in 2024 than they gained during the winter.
