The founder of the first gold-linked ETF remains bullish on the product 20 years later.
“Things look good for the rest of this year and into next year,” George Milling-Stanley told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.
State Street’s chief gold strategist highlighted that demand from both central banks and retail investors in emerging markets such as India and China is a big tailwind for the precious metal.
Despite the post-election pullback in gold futures and the SPDR Gold Stocks ETF (GLD), this year’s record-breaking year remains intact.
Since the Nov. 5 election, “investors have been excited about risk-on assets,” Milling-Stanley said. “This is why we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the stock market and why we’ve seen a dramatic rise in cryptocurrencies.”
But precious metals, and by extension the GLD ETF, are “starting to regain some of the lost ground,” Milling Stanley said.
Stock chart iconStock chart icon
GLD chart since its founding
The launch of the GLD ETF changed the face of commodity ownership when it was launched 20 years ago.
Since then, gold investments have shifted from jewelry to bullion and ETFs as demand for the precious metal has soared. Milling-Stanley describes the increased investor demand as a “major change” to the commodity investment environment, and to portfolio management as a whole.
Todd Thorne, ETF and technical strategist at Strategas, said GLD has driven more investors into gold because of the breadth of access that ETFs can provide.
“Whatever your ultimate goal is, GLD allows you to diversify by adding something other than stocks and bonds to your portfolio,” says Sohn.
Since its inception, GLD is up 451%. In 2024, it will increase by 29%.
Disclaimer
