Advisors want to bask in gold's warm glow, says Jan van Eck

Advisors are increasingly looking for ways to bask in gold's warm glow, according to Jan van Eck, CEO of asset manager VanEck, citing the precious metal's epic rally of recent years.

“I would say that real assets, commodities and gold are definitely something now that advisors are talking about,” he told InvestmentNews at the Exchange ETF conference in Las Vegas. “Gold has been rallying for two solid years, now almost coming up on three years.”

VanEck started its first gold fund in 1968, he added.

Gold surged past $5,000 for the first time ever earlier this year, prompting discussion among advisors about whether to take the profits.

“Now they are wondering, is it too late? Should I buy gold now?” said van Eck. “We have a real assets allocation solution, so they are using that more.”

The VanEck CEO also pointed to gold’s crucial role in the international monetary system. “Gold is re-emerging as the world’s number one global currency because after we seized Russia’s reserves after their invasion of Ukraine and, now the action in Venezuela, people want to be able to control their own currency,” he said. “I don’t think there will be another reserve currency, it’s not like China is going to play that role, it’s more that gold is re-emerging, I think.”

ETFs account for about 95% of VanEck’s business and the company manages over $200 billion globally.

The asset manager is also home to the VanEck Space Innovators UCITS ETF, which boasts the particularly apropos ticker symbol JEDI. Launched in June 2022, the fund’s holdings are focused on reusable rockets, low-cost satellites, space tourism, climate study, and greenhouse gas monitoring.

Up until now the fund has only been available in Europe to European investors, although van Eck says that this is about to change. “We have filed for a space ETF here,” he told InvestmentNews, adding that the filing was last week.

“Our European ETF business has really grown a lot, from about $11 billion at the start of last year to now, it’s over $40 billion,” he said. “And they have some thematics that we just never launched in the U.S.”

In a separate interview at Exchange, Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments, told InvestmentNews that ETFs are now the default investment mechanism for the modern investor. “The structure itself is just so investor friendly,” he said. “You know what’s inside, they are transparent, when they are done well they have great pricing, and transparency to that pricing – you can execute it on your own, you can execute it with your advisor.”

“The diversity of product is astronomical now,” he added. “They are marketed to you, they are an investment that has a personality, the tickers can be fun.”