Investor interest in gold has peaked recently as the possible QE 3 announcement from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke looms ominously overhead. Seeking Alpha explains that the gold trend has attracted not only casual investors, but also major institutions and stockholders like Paulson & Co. and even Mexico.
The top three include:
“1. George Soros: Soro’s massive purchase of the SPDR Gold Trust makes headlines given the fact that he dumped the majority of his holdings when gold as in the $1,200/oz. area, leaving him on the sidelines for the metal’s historic run. He has since recanted his distaste for gold and this ETF by making a massive allocation. The last time Soros reported what was in his portfolio, he held 319,550 shares of the fund, or about $52 million worth at the time of the release. Now, it has been reported that his GLD stake has jumped to a total of 884,400 shares, worth roughly $137.3 million.
2. John Paulson: Paulson also made a massive bet on GLD, as the billionaire increased his GLD stake by 26% to hold 21.8 million shares of the world’s second largest ETF. That means that Paulson has approximately 44% of his company’s assets in this singular fund; a big bet that could be a make or break investment depending on the future of this precious metal.
3. Russia: Russian central bank purchases have been one of the biggest stories this year, as the emerging market has been loading up on theyellow commodity. In the trailing year, the country has purchased more than 80 tons as they now have more than $47 billion invested in physical bullion.”
