GOLD NEWS

Soros and Paulson buying gold ETF again: Vinik and Mindich offload theirs

Über investors George Soros and John Paulson appear to have strengthened their faith in gold holdings, while Jeffrey Vinik and Eric Mindich have thrown in the towel.

RENO (MINEWEB) - 

Paulson & Co.'s John Paulson and George Soros and his Soros Fund increased their holdings, while Vinik Assessment Management's Jeffrey Vinik and Eton Park Capital's Eric Mindich dumped their shares in the SPDR Gold Trust as of June 30th.

Paulson increased his holdings by 26% in SPDR Gold from 17,310,952 shares as of the first quarter of this year to 21,837,552 shares of as the end of the second quarter, SEC filings show.

The Soros Fund more than doubled its holdings in SPDR Gold Trust from 319,550 shares in the first quarter to 884,400 shares in the second quarter according to SEC filings.

Reuters reported that it was the first time Paulson & Co. had increased its position in the world's largest gold ETF since the first quarter of 2009 when the fund originally acquired 31.5 million shares.

"It's all about easing, and people are especially waiting for the Fed since investors expects prices will rise" if the central bank announces more gold purchase, BB&T Wealth Management's Walter "Bucky" Hellwig" told Bloomberg. "People are willing to hold on to gold to see what the Fed will say.

However, during the second quarter both Vinik Asset Management and Eton Park Capital eliminated their entire shareholdings in SPDR Gold Trust. Eton Park was originally one of the top investors in the gold ETF since 2008, Reuters reported.

SOROS HOLDINGS

During the second quarter, Soros reduced his shareholdings in Newmont Mining from 285,000 shares as of the end of the first quarter to 125,000 shares. He also invested in 385,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold during the second quarter, while the Soros Fund held no FCX shares in the first quarter.

While the Soros Fund held no shares of Thompson Creek Metals in the first quarter, it has since picked up 311,000 shares as of the end of the second quarter. The fund also bought 240,000 shares of PotashCorp of Saskatoon during the second quarter although it held no shares of the potash miner during the first quarter.

The Soros Fund also bought 655,000 shares of Ivanhoe Mines during the second quarter, although it held no shares of the company during the first quarter.

PAULSON HOLDINGS

Paulson, who lost 23% in his gold fund through July due to lower bullion prices and weaker mining stocks, has increased or maintained his holdings in several miners in the second quarter.

The Paulson & Co. fund maintained its holdings in Agnico Eagle at 1,016,600 shares, but increased its holdings in Allied Nevada Gold from 1,008,521 shares in the first quarter to 1,509,221 shares in the second quarter.

However, Paulson reduced its ADR shares in AngloGold-Ashanti from 33,162,460 shares in the first quarter to 32,761,921 in the second quarter. The fund maintained its Barrick holdings at 915,000 shares, while increasing its Gold Fields ADR shares from 18,038,600 shares in the first quarter to 18,857,600 shares in the second quarter.

Paulson & Co. maintained its Iamgold holdings at 3,881,900 shares, and Randgold holdings at 930,502 shares, said SEC records

Meanwhile, the fund bought 35,970,518 shares in the newly spun off NovaCopper during the second quarter while reducing its shareholdings in parent NovaGold from 31,937,018 shares during the first quarter to 24,503,400 shares in the second quarter.