Precious metals can boost your returns

Article Excerpt

Precious metals should let you profit over the next few years if interest rates begin falling (a clear possibility). That lowers the appeal of the U.S. dollar and increases the appeal of gold—and other precious metals—as a store of value. Here we look at three ETFs that aim to benefit from the long-term positive trends in precious metals (see the supplement on page 59 for more on precious metals and their role in your portfolio). SPROTT PHYSICAL GOLD AND SILVER TRUST $29.44 (Toronto symbol CEF; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $6.2 billion) invests in physical gold and silver bullion held in the vaults of the Royal Canadian Mint. The current split between the gold and silver holdings is 68% gold and 32% silver. The fund is set up as a trust. Each unit represents fractional ownership in the trust, the sole assets of which are gold and silver bullion. The trust is set up as a closed-ended fund, so it may trade at…