Dan....
In theory, I see no problems for doing an ETF for gold except for the expense involved with storage, insurance, etc. - remember that the QQQ's represent a basket of stocks, not something physical, so the analogy is not the same. I would think the more probable course would be for someone (MER, perhaps) to set up carefully chosen baskets of gold and silver stocks for an ETF (or several) that is liquid and easily traded.
There is a way to buy physical gold that is similar to what you describe - CEF (I think that is the correct name), a Canadian repository of physical gold that is traded somewhat like a closed end fund. The problem is that it has been carrying a hefty premium over the POG, which in itself makes it unattractive to me.
Personally, as I have stated before, I would rather own gold stocks than the actual metal itself because the stocks almost always do better. The circumstances where that would not be true would be if things got really bad (war, social upheaval, etc.) and if something like that were to seem likely, I would consider selling some of the gold stocks to buy the metal, but that is the only reason I can see. Should things get that bad, what is the difference between owning a gold stock and owning part of an ETF where the actual gold is in NYC or Montana or in somebody's basement somewhere?? In both cases, all you have is a piece of paper.
Finally, why pay for storage and insurance to keep the metal when I can collect a dividend on a stock as it appreciates (GG is even talking about paying its dividend in gold, rather than a check) ??
I would like a nice set of EFT's for gold and silver stocks - a conservative one, and one that is a basket of juniors would be great.
We shall see.
Good luck to you.
mlsoft
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