TY - JOUR T1 - Index Investments That Shine JF - ETFs and Indexing SP - 104 LP - 106 VL - 2012 IS - 1 AU - Clemens Reuter Y1 - 2012/06/20 UR - http://guides.pm-research.com/content/2012/1/104.abstract N2 - In view of ongoing debt problems, precious metals are attracting increasing investor attention. Various investment instruments are available to offer institutional investors the opportunity to invest in precious metals, allowing investors to improve their risk–return profiles while providing access to this attractive asset class. The available instruments differ substantially, however, depending on whether a given precious metal investment is implemented using futures, structured products (certificates), physically backed exchange-traded commodities or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This article highlights how index products such as ETFs not only offer low-cost and efficient access to this asset class but also can help to improve portfolio diversification. ER -