If gold is good enough for central banks, it's good enough for everyday investors, says Jerry Hicks, head of business development, Perth Mint, at the 2020 Inside ETFs conference.
He said the Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF—AAAU—launched 18 months ago and has $180 million in AUM already.
What's different about the fund though is that it is guaranteed by the government of West Australia, he said.
"We refine the gold that we vault," he said. "We're actually the largest gold refinery in the world, and we also allow people to exchange their shares in the fund for physical gold and deliver it to their door if they wish."
He said prior to the recent market downturn as a result of the novel coronavirus, central banks had been buying up gold.
"They've been acquiring significant amounts of gold for the past few years, and members of the public, investors are saying, 'if central banks are doing this, shouldn't I be doing it as well?'" he said.
