Value Microcaps Junior Miners

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GDX - Minning ETF is now trading:

The first exchange-traded fund to invest in shares of public gold-mining companies began trading Monday on the American Stock Exchange, following up on the popularity of ETFs that hold gold and silver bullion.

Van Eck Global, a firm specializing in hard-asset funds, launched the Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which is designed to track the performance of the Amex Gold Miners Index.

The benchmark holds 44 mining stocks, including Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) and Goldcorp Inc. (GG), according to the Amex.

"The vulnerability of the U.S. dollar, the twin deficits and other financial imbalances could lead to economic stress that supports a continued positive view on gold-related investments," said Joseph Foster, a portfolio manager at Van Eck.

The new ETF "is designed for investors looking for the traditional diversification benefits of gold-related investments as well as the liquidity that intraday trading provides," he added. ETFs are baskets of securities that trade - like stocks - on exchanges so they can be sold short. The specialist for the ETF is Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing LP.

The ETF closely follows the success of streetTRACKS Gold Trust (GLD), iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU) and iShares Silver Trust (SLV).

The silver ETF recently held a successful launch after a controversial registration period, while the streetTRACKS Gold Trust has ridden the metals boom to a 56% return over the past year, according to Morningstar Inc.

However, the new Van Eck offering tracks an index of mining companies, while the trio of earlier ETFs holds the metal in a vault with the shares representing ownership in physical gold or silver. Those stocks tend to be more volatile than the actual metals, while owning bullion removes the normal risks of investing in companies.

Shares of Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF were down 1% recently to $36.15 on its first trading day.