I’m interested in the PHPP ETF. Is its low volume exchange a reason for concern? How is PHPP compared to the other ETFs (GLD, CEL, PHYS)?
PHPP trades in a similar fashion to the GLD ETF, but it is less liquid. As an ETF it is guaranteed by the market animator that it will track the prices of metals. However since the liquidity in PHPP is lower than the animator may need to be "animate" the market more often, and it is likely that it will result in higher expense ratio for this fund than it is the case with GLD. As it is the case with GLD - the only advantage over other funds mentioned previously is that it is a convenient for Traders. However, PHPP doesn't appear to be better than GLD.
Additionally, PHPP does not only track gold, but also silver, platinum and palladium. While we have nothing against silver here, platinum and palladium may underperform gold and silver in the final part of the upswing, just like it was the case during the previous bull market, so I would not view them as an advantage. All in all, it seems that other funds are a better proxy for physical metals than PHPP. Still, please note that tax issues might be important here, so we would still recommend consulting your tax advisor before making your purchases.
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