Datastream

Visualizing Gold ETFs’ Record Inflows of 2020

Published

3 months ago

January 26, 2021

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Niccolo Conte

Gold ETF Inflows

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The Briefing

Gold ETF inflows in 2020 amounted to $47.9B (877.1t), more than doubling 2019’s inflows
This marks the fifth straight year of inflows into gold ETFs, almost doubling the previous record inflows in 2016 of $24.1B (541.1t)

Gold ETFs See Record Inflows in 2020

Gold had a strong year with 25% returns, and gold ETF inflows followed, reaching a new record high of $47.9 billion in 2020.

Gold-backed and gold ETFs have increasingly become a vital part of the gold investment market, making up around two-thirds of global net inflows for investment demand in the precious metal.

While gold set new all-time highs around $2,075/oz in 2020, gold ETF inflows ($47.5B) almost doubled the previous record-year of inflows (2016, $24.1B), and eclipsed 2013’s record year of outflows ($-41.6B).

Year	Total Flows in Tonnes	Total Flows in USD
2003	42.5t	$0.1B
2004	125.4t	$1.5B
2005	218.9t	$3.3B
2006	260.2t	$4.8B
2007	251.5t	$5.6B
2008	311.0t	$11.2B
2009	649.0t	$19.3B
2010	388.6t	$14.8B
2011	260.0t	$11.8B
2012	251.9t	$17.1B
2013	-887.1t	$-41.6B
2014	-149.3t	$-5.0B
2015	-129.3t	$-3.5B
2016	541.1t	$24.1B
2017	271.6t	$9.8B
2018	70.1t	$4.0B
2019	398.3t	$19.1B
2020	877.1t	$47.9B

Gold futures also saw increased participation in 2020, with aggregate open interest reaching yearly record-highs of $120.9B as investors and traders sought gold exposure.

North American Funds Represent Most Gold ETF Inflows

In terms of regionality, North American funds accounted for almost two-thirds of global net inflows from Q1-Q3’2020, reaching a total inflow of $31.9B for the year.

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the first U.S. gold ETF launched in 2004, made up the majority of North American inflows at $15.4B. Interestingly, this one ETF alone eclipsed Europe’s entire inflows for 2020 ($13.3B).

While Gold ETFs in Asia only reached $1.9B last year, their holdings saw the greatest percentage increase of all regions (49%) with seven new Chinese funds listed in 2020.

Gold ETFs are Driving Gold Investment Demand

Although flows turned negative in November ($-6.8B) and December ($-2.2B) of 2020, Gold ETF flows have returned positive for the first couple of weeks of 2021, with a $2.1B inflow as of Jan 15, 2021.

This return to positive ETF flows came as gold fell more than 5% from its $1,950 highs reached in early January. This could be a sign of gold ETF investors buying the dip, as gold potentially begins to turn upwards for the final two weeks of January.

Since gold ETFs make up such a large part of gold investment demand, keeping an eye on ETF flows can offer insight into where the precious metal might be headed.

»If you found this article interesting, you might enjoy this post on the ETFs: Visualizing the Expanse of the ETF Universe

Where does this data come from?

Source: World Gold Council
Details: The World Gold Council aggregates data from Bloomberg, ICE Benchmark Administration, and company filings.

Related Topics:precious metals gold Gold ETF Gold investment

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Datastream

How Does the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Invest Its Money?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funded by a trust that has a portfolio value of over $25 billion. Here’s how it invests its assets.

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2021

Jenna Ross

The Briefing

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has a total portfolio value of over $25 billion
Almost half of the money is invested in Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company run by chairman and CEO Warren Buffett
The trust favors industrial stocks, with a 34% weighting in the sector

How Does the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Invest Its Money?

Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are ending their marriage, but will continue to work together at their foundation.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, launched in 2000, is the largest private philanthropic organization in the United States. It has spent over $50 billion on global public health over the last two decades, including $1.75 billion on COVID-19 relief.

Of course, the foundation’s assets are managed by a trust until they are ready to be distributed to grantees. Here’s a look at how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust invests its assets.

The Portfolio Breakdown

The trust has invested 100% of its holdings in stocks. It holds almost half of its value in Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company run by Warren Buffett.

Stock	Value	% of Portfolio
Berkshire Hathaway	$11.8B	45.5%
Waste Management	$2.6B	10.0%
Caterpillar	$2.6B	10.0%
Canadian National Railway	$1.9B	7.2%
Walmart	$1.6B	6.4%
Crown Castle	$1.0B	3.9%
Ecolab	$991M	3.8%
UPS	$960M	3.7%
FedEx	$921M	3.6%
Schrodinger	$518M	2.0%
Coca-Cola FEMSA	$294M	1.1%
Grupo Televisa	$213M	0.8%
Liberty Global	$156M	0.6%
Apple	$133M	0.5%
Amazon	$102M	0.4%
Alphabet (Google)	$102M	0.4%
Twitter	$15M	0.1%
Liberty Latin America	$14M	0.1%

However, the portfolio is more diversified than initially meets the eye—Berkshire Hathaway itself is invested in almost 50 stocks.

Shrodinger, a healthcare-focused software company that makes up 2% of the trust’s total portfolio, was one of the best performing stocks of 2020 by price returns. The portfolio has also been boosted by delivery companies UPS and FedEx, both of which saw their share prices more than double over the last year as online shopping took off.

While the trust is dominated by U.S.-domiciled companies, a few foreign names do make the list. For example, Canadian National Railway makes up over 7% of the portfolio, while the Latin American bottler Coca-Cola FEMSA makes up just over 1%.

The Future of the Foundation

The trust continues to be managed by a team of outside investment managers, whose decisions have a critical impact on the amount of money the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has to fund its initiatives. For example, if Berkshire Hathaway were to dip 10%, this would drop the portfolio value by more than $1 billion.

In addition, the foundation is funded in part by the Gates’ personal donations—more than $36 billion from 1994 to 2018. Should Bill and Melinda go on to create their own separate philanthropic efforts post-divorce, the foundation may have a smaller portfolio to pull from going forward.

» Like this? Then you might also like The Warren Buffett Empire in One Giant Chart

Where does this data come from?

Source: SEC filings and MarketWatch
Notes: Portfolio holdings are as of December 31, 2020. Stock values are as of market close on May 3, 2021.

Datastream

How Media Consumption Has Changed Over the Last Decade (2011-2021)

The media consumption landscape in 2021 is shifting. Time spent on media continues to spike, with mobile challenging for the top spot

Published

1 week ago

April 28, 2021

Aran Ali

The Briefing

Since 2011, media consumption for U.S. adults is up 20% across all categories
An average of 4 hours and 12 minutes is spent on mobile devices

Media Consumption in 2021

There are a wide array of apps and life hacks out there designed to help regulate personal internet use and media consumption, but the data suggests they haven’t been working. Today, we consume more media than at any point in time in the last decade.

This data from Recode looks at how many minutes U.S. adults spend on various forms of media, comparing mobile, desktop, radio, television, and magazines.

How Many Minutes are Spent on Media?

In 2021, collective media consumption continues its upward trajectory, and is set to be at the highest it’s ever been. In 2021, overall media consumption among U.S. adults is estimated to be around 666 minutes per day, or 11.1 hours—a 20.2% increase from 2011.

Year	Mobile	Desktop	Radio	Television	Magazines	Total
2021	252	50	99	253	12	666
2020	231	50	100	258	13	652
2019	208	51	100	264	14	637
2018	190	52	102	270	15	629
2017	164	53	102	282	17	618
2016	136	53	105	287	18	599
2015	124	56	109	289	19	597
2014	88	67	111	298	20	584
2013	74	67	116	306	21	584
2012	60	68	120	314	23	585
2011	45	40	131	314	24	554

Although media consumption has grown overall, this is predominantly driven by mobile usage. In fact, every category with the exception of mobile has shrunk from their respective peaks. Mobile on the other hand, has grown a whopping 460% in 10 years, from an average daily use of 45 minutes to a staggering 252 minutes.

Consumption by Generation

Disparities in media consumption have a generational aspect that’s worth noting, as well. For instance, older Americans like Baby Boomers still consume media routinely through television. On the other hand, younger cohorts like Millennials and Gen Z tend to consume more through mobile.

Increasing internet use has come with criticism, and is said to be partially responsible for our waning attention spans. With only 1,440 minutes in a day, it remains unknown exactly how many minutes we will continue to direct towards mobile use. But with figures growing 9% last year, we may not have yet reached the peak.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Recode
Notes: 2021 figures are projections by Zenith Media