Barron’s: Gold is only bright spot for Paulson this year

Barron’s Deal Journal reports John Paulson’s gold fund is the one bright spot in his portfolio year to date. The legendary investor’s Advantage Fund has reportedly lost 32% so far this year after a 3% drop in November. Paulson & Co’s Advantage Plus Fund is off by 46% for the year according to Deal Journal sources. In contrast the firm’s Gold Fund rose 1.3% in the month, leaving it ahead by 11% in 2011, but it still lags the bellwether SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) with a return of more than 23% on the year.

MINING.com reported over the weekend billionaire investor George Soros is placing a very particular bet on gold: according to Forbes he’s buying $40 to $50 million in shares Chow Tai Fook, a Chinese jeweler that’s bigger than Tiffany’s. The company is hoping to raise $2.8 billion on the Hong Kong Stock exchange when it lists in a fortnight’s time.

In the first quarter, Soros sold the vast majority of his $800 million gold holdings in exchange traded funds and shifted his investments into gold companies, a move seen by many at the time that the gold investment boom may be coming to a close after 11 straight years of gains.

MINING.com reported on Tuesday investment gurus Jim Rogers and Marc Faber in recent interviews seem to agree on the dynamics in the gold market. Rogers says he’s not selling his gold and Faber says there is no bubble. But that doesn’t mean bullion is not still in a correction phase. Read more…