Billionaire investor George Soros’ hedge fund more than doubled its bet on the price of gold during the fourth quarter, a portion of the firm’s total U.S.-listed equity holdings of $8.8 billion at the end of 2009.

The New York-based firm also disclosed in a filing on Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it bought almost 95 million shares of Citigroup (C) during the quarter, worth $313 million by the end of the year. Soros reported no holdings of the troubled bank’s shares at the end of the third quarter.

Soros Fund Management owned 6.2 million shares of SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) — an exchange-traded fund that owns gold bullion — at the end of the year worth $663 million. That was up from 2.5 million shares at the end of the third quarter.

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Soros and other noted investors like John Paulson have previously touted gold as a hedge against inflation, further economic turmoil or a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar. Last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros said “the ultimate asset bubble is gold,” but he declined to say whether he was investing in the precious metal.

The filing for the end of the fourth quarter revealed no listing for Canadian chemicals manufacturer Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (POT), Soros’ largest holding at the end of the third quarter.

That could indicate that the almost 3 million share investment was sold during the fourth quarter. But large investors occasionally leave off major holdings when they are trading the position and disclose their investment in a confidential filing with the SEC or in a subsequent amendment to their public report.

The firm does not comment on its holdings, a spokesman said.

Soros’ most recent SEC filing also revealed large bets on seed producer Monsanto (MON) and Brazilian gas and oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) (PBR), also known as Petrobras.

The firm held 3.9 million shares of Monsanto at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 1.1 million three months earlier.

Soros also reported a stake of 7.7 million shares of Petrobras’s U.S. ADRs, worth $369 million, and a slight increase from the 7.4 million receipts held at the end of the third quarter. Soros had another 5.9 million shares of nonvoting ADRs worth $249 million, virtually unchanged from his holding three months earlier.

Soros also reported raising his holdings in oil company Hess Corp (HES) and telecommunications company AT&T Inc (T) among others.

According to the regulatory filing, Soros Fund Management raised its holding in carmaker Ford Motor Co (F) to 10.9 million shares from 7.3 million shares at the end of the third quarter, when Soros started to accumulate his position.

Soros also raised his holdings of AT&T for the second straight quarter to 4.7 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter from 4.2 million shares at the end of the third quarter.

Large investors such as Soros are required to report holdings of U.S.-listed equities at the end of each quarter, but not short positions or holdings of other securities like bonds and over-the-counter derivatives contracts. Investors are also allowed to file some holdings on confidential reports if they are trading into or out of a position at the end of a quarter.

Source: REUTERS

 

We have listed some options for investing in gold through ETFs below:

LONG:

The investment (GLD) seeks to replicate the performance, net of expenses, of the price of gold bullion. The trust holds gold, and is expected to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of gold, and to distribute gold in connection with redemption of baskets. The gold held by the trust will only be sold on an as-needed basis to pay trust expenses, in the event the trust terminates and liquidates its assets, or as otherwise required by law or regulation.

The investment (GDX) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the AMEX Gold Miners index. The fund generally normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks and American depositary receipts (ADRs) of companies involved in the gold mining industry. The fund is nondiversified.

The Funds (GDXJ) investment objective is to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index (the “Junior Gold Miners Index”). For a further description of the Junior Gold Miners Index, see “Junior Gold Miners Index.”

The objective of (SGOL) the newly listed shares is to reflect the performance of the price of Gold bullion, less the Trust’s operating expenses. The Trust is open ended and is designed for investors who want a cost-effective(1) and convenient(2) way to invest in Gold as well as diversify their Gold holdings.

The investment (UGL) will seek to replicate, net of expenses, twice the performance of gold bullion as measured by the U.S. Dollar p.m. fixing price for delivery in London. The fund normally invests assets in financial instruments with economic characteristics twice the return of the index. It may employ leveraged investment techniques in seeking its investment objective.

The investment (DGL) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index – Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return. The index is a rules-based index composed of futures contracts on gold and is intended to reflect the performance of gold.

The investment (DGP) seeks to replicate, net of expenses, twice the daily performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index – Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return. The index is intended to reflect changes in the market value of certain gold futures contracts and is comprised of a single unfunded gold futures contract.

The objective (IAU) of the trust is for the value of its shares to reflect, at any given time, the price of gold owned by the trust at that time, less the trust’s expenses and liabilities. The trust is not actively managed. It receives gold deposited with it in exchange for the creation of baskets of iShares, sells gold as necessary to cover the trust’s liabilities, and delivers gold in exchange for baskets of iShares surrendered to it for redemption. The trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or a commodity pool for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act.

SHORT:

The investment (DZZ) seeks to replicate, net of expenses, twice the inverse of the daily performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index – Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return. The index is intended to reflect changes in the market value of certain gold futures contracts and is comprised of a single unfunded gold futures contract.

The investment (GLL) will seek to replicate, net of expenses, twice the inverse daily performance of gold bullion as measured by the U.S. Dollar p.m. fixing price for delivery in London. The fund normally invests assets in financial instruments with economic characteristics inverse to the index. It may employ leveraged investment techniques in seeking its investment objective.

 

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ETF BASIC NEWS, NYSE:GLD