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On February 18, 2009 the Financial Times published one of the most important articles nobody read.  The article’s headline was Gold primed to become “mania asset.”

 

The gist of the article was something I’ve been telling people for a long time: Gold – more so than any asset right now – has the potential to experience a mania phase… one like we saw in Internet stocks from 1997 through 2000.

 

A mania phase is a period in an asset’s lifecycle marked by leaps of 10% or 20% in a month… 100% or 300% in a year… and 500% or more over the course of several years. Get in early with a big position on a mania phase, and you’ll make a fortune. Remember one Internet-mania darling, JDS Uniphase, climbed more than 30-fold in about two years… which would have turned a stake of $20,000 into $640,000.

 

As that little-read article mentioned, an asset must have one key ingredient to enter mania phase: It must have the “new era” factor… a set of conditions folks can point to and say, “This time is different… The old, conventional methods of valuing assets are useless in this case.”

 

Take Internet stocks. In the late ’90s, Wall Street analysts chucked classic valuation measures – like price-to-cash flow and price-to-book – out the window. The Internet was growing too fast for these old measures, they figured. Instead, they used crazy metrics like web traffic (and often pure fantasy) to justify valuations. Companies with little chance of turning a profit sported market caps of hundreds of millions of dollars simply because they had good stories… and because that time was “different.”

 

Now let’s get to gold. As we’ve noted many times in DailyWealth, you can make a good case that this time is different. Never before has the nation with the world’s reserve paper currency – which is backed by nothing but faith in a bankrupt government – promised so much to so many people (Social Security, Obamacare, unlimited military commitment).

 

We’re funding many of these promises with borrowed money… so crushing interest payments are on the way. The U.S. government could pay as much as 20% of its tax revenue to service the national debt in just three years. Imagine working your tail off just to pay the interest on your credit cards.

 

For a picture of what could happen, consider that Europe – which in aggregate has made the same crazy promises… and is under a similar debt load – is watching its paper currency union experience a slow-motion train wreck. The chart below shows what gold’s action looks like in the eyes of a European. It’s looking a lot like a mania phase.

 

 

How high can gold go? I can’t say. Nobody can.

 

Despite what many gurus will tell you, we simply cannot properly value gold. It’s not a stock, so you can’t say, “I’ll pay 10 times cash flow for this.” It’s not a rental property, so you can’t say, “I’ll buy this for eight times annual rent.” Gold’s chief use isn’t in the manufacturing process, like copper and iron ore.

 

Nope… gold is the odd man out in the asset family.

 

Gold represents real, intrinsic wealth. Greece can’t debase it. The U.S. government cannot debase it. There’s no way to know what people will pay for gold in a big crisis. This is precisely the reason it is a candidate for mania phase. People can tell themselves, “This time is different. It’s a new era of currency crisis, so gold can and should trade for $2,000… $3,000… or $6,000 an ounce.”

 

I’m no “the world is going to hell in a handcart” guy. I simply look around for assets with extraordinary potential to rise. I’m indifferent to whether it’s gold, stocks, homebuilders, uranium, or Malaysian palm oil.

 

I’m not saying a gold mania will happen next week… or even six months from now. I actually believe gold needs to pull back and “catch its breath.” I am saying gold is an asset folks can justify paying any price for.

 

The same sort of analysts who claimed the Nasdaq would go to 50,000 are the same sort of analysts who will claim gold will go to $25,000 an ounce. The sober among us will be shouted down… because “this time is different.”  This is the chief requirement of a mania. It is in place for gold.

 

  

  

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Investors have turned to gold ETFs since the economy has been in uncertain times.  They offer a great way to protect you against risk in your portfolio during uncertain times. We have put together some other ETF options for your viewing below:        

LONG:        

The investment ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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 ETF (NYSE: 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.