How to access precious metals through ETFs

ETFs

Stephen Cohen, iShares' head of investment strategies in EMEA, explains why ETFs are an effective way to access precious metals.

Investing in commodities is often seen as an opportunity to achieve portfolio diversification. Historically, commodity returns have been negatively correlated to those of equity and fixed income markets across various market cycles. Demand for industrial related commodities, such as iron ore, usually increases when markets recover while precious metals, gold in particular, may be particularly attractive in periods of market uncertainty as investors look for safe-haven investment. Scarcity of resources Compared to other natural resources, gold, silver, platinum and palladium are scar...