Investment Trusts & Unit Trusts

Investment Trusts are financial companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchage. They invest in shares in other companies and can specialize in different fields. You can buy shares in these trusts trough brokers such as Selftrade.co.uk. These trusts are greatly used by investors and pension funds alike. The managers usually have specialaized knowledge in the trusts area and you can gain from their expertise. The funds are made up of a set number of shares that are then trade.

Unit trusts are not listed on the stock exchange and cannot be bought like shares. When a fund is created, the owners attract investors money then issue units that are priced accordingly. Unit Trusts can also be specialized.

OEIC (Open ended Investment Trusts) are similar to Unit Trusts, but have slight differeces in their set up. Firstly, they have a buying and selling price unlike Unit Trusts which just have one price.

Both these types of funds will generally offer exposure to commodities in general. Investments will be in other metals apart from Gold and also soft commodities along with oil and gas.

Please see below which funds offer gold exposure.

Blackrock Gold and General

JPM Natural Resources

Smith & Williamson Gold and General

Close Beacon Investment

First State Glogal Resources