Gold

How are behaviors of gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETF) similar and different? To investigate, we compare behaviors of iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) using daily and monthly return frequencies. We also look at full-sample compound annual growth rates (CAGR) and maximum drawdowns (MaxDD). Using daily and monthly returns for SLV, GLD and the S&P 500 Index (SP500) during late April 2006 (limited by SLV) through early April 2025, we find that:

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Does the M2 measure of money supply reliably drive bitcoin and/or gold prices at a monthly horizon? To investigate we relate monthly change in M2 to future monthly bitcoin and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) returns. Using monthly data for M2, bitcoin and GLD from September 2014 (inception of bitcoin price series) through February 2025, we find that:

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How do returns of different asset classes recently interact with inflation as measured by monthly change in the not seasonally adjusted, all-items consumer price index (CPI) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics? To investigate, we look at lead-lag relationships between change in CPI and returns for each of the following 10 exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset class proxies:

• Equities:
  • SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)
  • iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
  • iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA)
  • iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM)
• Bonds:
  • iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT)
  • iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD)
  • iShares JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Fund (EMB)
• Real assets:
  • Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)
  • SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
  • Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking (DBC)

Using monthly total CPI values and monthly dividend-adjusted prices for the 10 specified ETFs during December 2007 (limited by EMB) through January 2025, we find that: Keep Reading

How might an investor construct a portfolio of very risky assets? To investigate, we revisit ideas first considered five years ago:

• First, diversify with monthly rebalancing of (the GBTC portfolio):
  1. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), an indirect Bitcoin holding.
  2. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), an indirect gold holding.
  3. ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY), to capture part of the U.S. stock market volatility risk premium by shorting short-term VIX futures.
• Second, capturing upside volatility and managing drawdown of this portfolio via gain-skimming to a cash position.

We assume equal initial allocations of $10,000 to each of the three assets. We perform a monthly skim as follows: (1) if the risky assets have month-end combined value less than combined initial allocations ($30,000), we rebalance to equal weights for next month; or, (2) if the risky assets have combined month-end value greater than combined initial allocations, we rebalance to initial allocations and move the excess permanently (skim) to cash. We very conservatively assume monthly portfolio reformation frictions of 1% of month-end combined value of risky assets. We assume accrued skimmed cash earns the 3-month U.S. Treasury bill (T-bill) yield. Using monthly prices of GBTC, GLD and SVXY adjusted for splits/dividends and contemporaneous T-bill yield during May 2015 (limited by GBTC) through January 2025, we find that:

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A reader requested a test of the following hypothesis from the article “Gold’s Bluff – Is a 30 Percent Drop Next?” [no longer available]: “Ironically, gold is more than just a hedge against market turmoil. Gold is actually one of the most accurate indicators of the stock market’s long-term direction. The Dow Jones measured in gold is a forward looking indicator.” To test this assertion, we examine relationships between the spot price of gold and the level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Using monthly data for the spot price of gold in dollars per ounce and DJIA over the period January 1971 through October 2024, we find that: Keep Reading

Do gold and gold mining stocks exhibit exploitable seasonality? Using monthly closes for spot gold and the S&P 500 Index since December 1974, PHLX Gold/Silver Sector (XAU) since December 1983, AMEX Gold Bugs Index (HUI) since June 1996 and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) since November 2004, all through September 2024, we find that: Keep Reading

How do returns of different asset classes recently interact with the Effective Federal Funds Rate (EFFR)? We focus on monthly changes (simple differences) in EFFR  and look at lead-lag relationships between change in EFFR and returns for each of the following 10 exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset class proxies:

• Equities:
  • SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)
  • iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
  • iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA)
  • iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM)
• Bonds:
  • iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT)
  • iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD)
  • iShares JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Fund (EMB)
• Real assets:
  • Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)
  • SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
  • Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking (DBC)

Using end-of-month EFFR and dividend-adjusted prices for the 10 ETFs during December 2007 (limited by EMB) through August 2024, we find that: Keep Reading

Can investors holding gold as inflation hedge/equity crash protection improve performance of this position by holding gold (silver) when the gold-to-silver ratio is relatively low (high)? To investigate, we track the ratio of SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) price to iShares Silver Trust (SLV) price and switch from GLD to SLV (SLV to GLD) when GLD is overvalued (undervalued) relative to SLV. Using end-of-month prices of GLD and SLV during April 2006 (limited by inception of SLV) through April 2024, we find that: Keep Reading

Is the price of gold too high? In their May 2024 paper entitled “Is There Still a Golden Dilemma?”, Claude Erb and Campbell Harvey revisit their golden dilemma, the tug of war between dueling ideas:

1. A high price for gold today presages low future return.
2. The higher the price of gold today, the rosier its future.

The focus on inflation and gold demand as potential key drivers of gold price behavior. Using monthly data for the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) and for gold demand indicators such as exchange-traded fund (ETF) and central bank gold holdings during January 1975 (when high-quality gold data becomes available) through March 2024, they find that: Keep Reading

What are the implications of mainstream economics for bitcoin? In his March 2024 paper entitled “Bitcoin: What Does Mainstream Economics Have to Say?”, Joshua Hendrickson tackles the following questions:

1. Why does money exist and what role does it play in society? How does bitcoin fit our understanding of this role?
2. What is bitcoin worth?
3. Is bitcoin (or can bitcoin be) a sound form of money?
4. Should governments adopt bitcoin?

His goal is to decipher how economics (not any particular economist) answer these questions. Applying mainstream economic theory, he concludes that: Keep Reading