Alternative Investments:

ETFs

Brian Meier
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

ETF that attempts to replicate the price of gold bullion.

Buy and sell actual gold to do this.

Expense Ratio: 0.4% (Lowest of Gold ETFs)

Reason to buy:
• Hedge against Inflation
ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF)

ETF that is designed to deliver the inverse of the return on the Barclays
Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index for a single day.

Expense Ratio: 0.95% (Very High) - Inception Date: Aug 20, 2009
Less Risky option: TIP (ETF of TIPS) see notes

Reason to buy:
• Hedge against rise in
inflation
PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish (UDN)

ETF that is designed to follow the Deutsche Bank Short US Dollar

Futures index.

This index is designed to have the dollar short against the Euro,

Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and
Swiss Franc.

Expense Ratio: 0.50%

Reason to buy:
• Protection against a
devaluing dollar due
to Quantitative
Easing.
iPath DJ AIG Copper TR Sub-Idx ETN (JJC)

ETF that is designed to reflect the performance on copper contracts. 

Copper price is less Dependant than gold on inflation.  It is tied more

to industrial output and economic recovery.

Expense Ratio: 0.75%

Reason to buy:
• Copper prices are
still near their lows
and will rise when
industrial output
resumes growth.
PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy (PKN)

ETF that is designed to track the performance of the World Nuclear

Association Index.

The breakdown of the index is as follows; 25% power generation, 25%

technology/equipment and services, 20% nuclear fuel, 15% reactor
vendors, and 15% construction.

Expense Ratio: 0.75%

Reason to buy:
• Nuclear ETF to fill
alternative energy
allocation.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (VWO)

ETF that is designed to track the performance of the MSCI Emerging

Markets index.

The index tracks 26 emerging economies including: Brazil, China,

India, Russia.

Expense Ratio: 0.20%

Reason to Buy:
•  Offers us exposure
to emerging markets
while limiting the risk
and volatility because
of how broad this
ETF is.
Recomendation:

• Buy PKN to fill the alternative energy allocation.

• Buy JJC because of the likely recovery of industrial output and

subsequent rise in copper prices.

• Buy VWO to get exposure in emerging markets.

• Choice of one or more of the following to buy:

        (all reasons to buy these ETFs revolve around the same idea)

 TBF
 GLD
 UDN