SPDR Gold Shares is most traded SGX ETF

Singapore

THE SPDR Gold Shares ETF clocked the highest average monthly turnover value - S$156.9 million - among exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) during the first six months of this year.

The fund, which is backed by physical gold and tracks the price of the yellow metal, also generated a total return of 16.2 per cent for the year to July 2. According to an SGX market update on Thursday, it now has a global fund size of S$93.36 billion.

The SPDR Gold Shares ETF, trading on the SGX under the O87 code, closed at US$170.59 on Thursday, up US$1.38 or 0.8 per cent.

Spot bullion prices have rallied this year, supported by inflows into gold-backed ETFs as well as fiscal and monetary stimulus. Stimulus tends to boost gold, which is seen as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement. Skittish investors have also been running for safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the World Gold Council, gold-backed ETFs around the globe added 734 tonnes or US$39.5 billion to their holdings in the first half of 2020 - more than in any previous full year. James Steel, chief precious metals analyst at HSBC Securities, wrote in a note: "A massive investor response to Covid-19 has pushed ETF holdings to record levels, the impact of which has outweighed the decline in jewellery demand and absorbed increases in recycling."

Spot gold jumped past the technical US$1,800 per ounce threshold on Wednesday, reaching its highest point in almost nine years. It held steady above this key level on Thursday, up 0.2 per cent at US$1,814.53 per ounce by 0921 GMT. US gold futures were 0.2 per cent higher at US$1,823.60.

Meanwhile, the total turnover value of ETFs listed on the Singapore bourse nearly tripled year on year to S$506 million in H1 2020.

After the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, the next four most traded ETFs during the first six months of this year were SPDR STI, Lion-Phillip S-Reit, Lyxor China Enterprise (HSCEI) UCITS and Nikko AM Singapore STI.

The SPDR STI ETF generated an average monthly turnover of S$145.4 million and had a fund size of S$1.11 billion as at July 2, with year-to-date net inflows of S$442 million. Its investment objective is to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of the Straits Times Index (STI).

The Lion-Phillip S-Reit ETF generated the third-highest average monthly turnover of S$19.4 million in H1 2020.