redbaron

ASA Limited: A Golden Opportunity

I also own these shares, and have owned them for many years in my IRA, which negates the tax consequences mentioned above. I think the article is well written and well presented, and if one wants to know the 10 largest holdings they are easily available at ETFConnect.com. Here they are from that site:


Newcrest Mining Limited -
AngloGold Ashanti Limited
Anglo American plc
Anglo Platinum Limited Gold Fields Limited
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited
Randgold Resources Limited ADRs
Compania de Minas Buenaventura ADRs
Goldcorp Inc.
Barrick Gold Corporation

Another closed end fund with a current buy-back offer, in a somewhat related field is DWS Global Commodities Fund (GCS). They also are offering to buy back shares at 98% of NAV, with a closing date just 3 days following the ASA offer, and GCS currently is trading at a discount to NAV of 11.5%. Their 10 largest holdings are:

ExxonMobil
Monsanto
Rio Tinto
BHP Billiton
Royal Dutch Shell
Schlumberger
BG Group
Suncor Energy
XTO Energy
streetTRACKS Gold Trust


I own both funds in my IRA, so tax consequences are essentially non-existent.

Buying closed end funds at large discounts is a good long term strategy, IMHO, and I agree whole heartedly with the authors general proposal; I would also advise investors to re-invest dividends and distributions to further accumulate additional shares. Using this concept, and adding other securities for both income and growth to this base, has been the heart of my investments for many years. And it has been very successful.