Easy ways to profit from gold and silver

Article Excerpt

In September 2011, gold hit an all-time high of$1,900.30 U.S. an ounce. It now trades at around$1,686.50. Silver rose to an all-time high in April2011, when it reached $49.76 U.S. an ounce. It hassince pulled back to today’s price of $31.00.Gold and silver could well regain their highs andmove up even further over the longer term, althoughthey will likely remain volatile. Higher prices wouldarise from investor fears that inflation or globalpolitical and economic instability will hurt keycurrencies, such as the euro or the U.S. dollar.If you want to hold a number of gold or silverstocks, these two exchange traded funds offertop-quality global miners and low fees.ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEXFUND $19.04 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell throughbrokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performanceof the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.This index is made up of 56 gold stocks fromCanada and around the world. The fund’s MER is0.60%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fundbegan trading on March 23, 2001.The fund’s top 10…