Perth Mint Launches First Government-Backed Gold ETF

(Bloomberg) -- Will a government guarantee for an exchange-traded fund be enough to lure investors back to gold?

On Wednesday, Australia’s Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF, the first with bullion holdings guaranteed by a sovereign entity, will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The fund, backed by physical metal of at least 99.5 percent purity, debuts at a time when investors are fleeing the asset class, taking holdings in all ETFs tracked by Bloomberg to a seven-month low.

“We believe investors will have greater confidence with the knowledge that their wealth is physically stored in one of the most secure central bank grade vaults in the southern hemisphere,” Richard Hayes, the Perth Mint’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “AAAU is a truly unique offering for investors as it adds a new layer to hard asset investing in the United States,” he said, referring to the ETF by its ticker.

The ETF allows holders to exchange their shares for gold. Investors can get the physical metal delivered to their doorstep by Perth Mint, which refines and manufactures precious metals product.

To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in New York at ljavier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter, Steven Frank

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