Hedge fund may realize gold ETFs have no metal

Einhorn’s Greenlight Hedge Fund Switches Gold ETF to Bullion

By Saijel Kishan, Bloomberg

NEW YORK — Greenlight Capital Inc., the $5 billion hedge-fund firm run by David Einhorn, told investors it switched all of its holdings in a gold exchange-traded fund into bullion during the second quarter.

The New York-based fund said the cost of keeping gold in a storage facility is less than it paid in fees for the SPDR Gold Trust, according to a letter sent to investors yesterday.

Greenlight, started by Einhorn, 40, in 1996, told clients in January it was buying gold for the first time amid the threat of inflation from higher government spending. The firm held 4.2 million shares of SPDR Gold Trust in the first quarter, making the gold-backed ETF its biggest holding.

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