Brokerage statistics highlight retail participation in "trading futures vs stocks" rising. Mini and micro futures contracts are pulling traders from single-stock bets due to lower capital requirements and broader market exposure. Forbes How To Decide How Much To Invest In Stocks Vs. Bonds By Catherine Brock It’s estimated that world gold reserves stand at around 200,000 metric tons, 1 with jewellery representing almost half of the total (45%), followed by bars and coins (21%) and central bank holdings (17%). The world’s largest gold ETF, SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD), was launched in 2004 and currently,as of November 2024, has assets under management in the order of $75 billion dollars, in the form of 880 metric tons of gold held at its custodians’ depositories. The SPDR ETF was developed to track the price of gold and to become an inexpensive alternative to owning physical gold. Investors can purchase a share in the ETF, which represents one tenth of an ounce of gold. Considering world gold reserves of 200,000 metric tons, the amount of bullion under management held by the ETF is fairly insignificant and the volume of gold traded by the SPDR ETF is small compared to the daily volume transacted via Gold futures. Spread trading in "trading futures vs stocks" context has widened — traders short equity index futures while holding defensive dividend stocks. This hybrid approach mitigates downside while allowing participation in stable yield returns.
