SPDR Gold Trust ETF passes $50 billion mark

State Street Global Advisors, and World Gold Trust Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the World Gold Council (WGC), have announced that assets in the world' largest gold ETF, the SPDRGold Trust (NYSE:GLD) have surpassed US $50 billion as nervous investors have continued to put their trust in gold as they see the global economic situation possibly deteriorating further.  Fears of a double dip recession, which now seems more and more likely, have been driving some really big money into the gold ETF.
"With assets having increased by approximately 32 percent year-to-date (as of Friday, June 25, 2010), SPDR Gold Shares has radically transformed the way in which a wide range of investors access the gold market," said James Ross, senior managing director at State Street Global Advisors. "GLD is increasingly being used as part of a long-term diversification investment strategy within investors' portfolios in a variety of market cycles currently playing out worldwide."

Jason Toussaint, managing director, Investments, World Gold Trust Services, LLC commented: "Strategic asset allocation will continue to play a central role in investors' portfolio performance moving forward, and portfolios that contain even a small allocation in gold have the potential to better cope with varying market scenarios. This milestone for GLD underscores that investors have embraced gold as a viable core holding over the long-term."

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was launched in November 2004 by World Gold Trust Services and State Street to satisfy the growing need among investors for an exchange traded fund backed by physical gold. Recognizing that gold is a long-term investment which may stabilize wealth by mitigating the risk of falls in other asset classes, investors in GLD have made it one of the fastest growing ETFs globally. As of June 25, 2010, assets under management in the trust totalled more than $53 billion, making it the second largest ETF by assets in the world.
The rise in value of the SPDR Gold Trust to around $53 billion at the latest gold price valuation has been due to both the rise in its physical gold holding to 1,320.44 tonnes and the continuing growth in the gold price.
SPDR Gold Trust's gold inventory puts its holdings higher than those of all but five Central Banks (if one includes the IMF) - The U.S., Germany, the IMF, Italy and France.  Notably the SPDR holding is now some 266 tonnes more than China's official holding of 1,054.1 tonnes, having passed the Chinese official figure in mid-March last year.  Of course many believe Chinese reserves may be far higher with additional gold being held outside the officially reported figure.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/18306/spdr-gold-trust-etf-passes-50-billion-mark-18306.html