Gold ETFs

suraj14821

I can't buy any physical gold ETFs in my SIPP that are USD denominated, like SGLD, on AJ Bell. I only have the option of buying GBP denominated ones or those with higher than average fees. Does anyone know a reason for this? Should I move to different platform?

MX5huggy

Can you buy any USD ETFs? Or it is only the gold ones you can’t buy?

suraj14821

Yes, a few index trackers. Note these aren't US based ETFs, just dollar denominated. I havn't tried buying any more for a while though, will try tomorrow when the market opens.

DavidT67

Why do you want a US Dollar trading currency ETF when British Pound ones are available ?  The fund fee will be the same regardless of the trade currency of a share class for any given ETF.

masonic

UK investors will tend to prefer GBP priced classes so that they don't get hit with forex charges when their broker has to convert their pounds to dollars before going on to use those dollars to buy units linked to the price of gold. There is no need for an intermediate currency that is purely used for the transaction. Your shares will have the added benefit of being valued in local currency, but can easily be valued in other currencies using an exchange rate.

Brokers will not rush to offer securities that are not going to be popular amongst their customers.

suraj14821

The USD based ones seem to have out performed GBP over the last 2 years or so - currency fluctuations? Also fees tend to be lower.

masonic

suraj14821 said:

The USD based ones seem to have out performed GBP over the last 2 years or so - currency fluctuations? Also fees tend to be lower.

SGLP is available at AJ Bell with an OCF of 0.12%. Same as SGLD.

You seem to have fallen into the trap of comparing apples with oranges. Their performance will be the same when measured like for like in either USD or GBP. You are not investing in dollars or pounds, you are investing in gold.