In the 19th century California gold rush, the surest way to a fortune, according to Mark Twain, was to be in the “pick and shovel business." If 2020 gold fever has an equivalent, it’s the ETF business. Exchange-traded funds backed by physical gold and silver accumulated more than $50 billion of bullion this year. ETFs now hold more gold than every central bank with the exception of the Federal Reserve. That’s generated windfall fees for ETFs and has been a boon for everyone involved in the business of servicing those enormous hordes of shiny metal.
