fwp
Filed Pursuant To Rule 433
Registration No. 333-167132
October 21, 2010
The American Advisor Interview with Jason Toussaint
Managing Director of The World Gold Council
Wednesday, October 20, 2010-Radio Broadcast Transcript
MR. CARTER: Welcome back to The American Advisor. Wednesday afternoon with the bottom half
of the hour. Weve been discussing the financial markets, whats going on today. Precious
metals are bouncing back from their sell off yesterday. Really everythings bouncing back,
the Dows up. Thats a great song, by the way, too. The Dow is up 154 points at 11,133 and
the NASDAQs up 28 points. Soso essentially, everything that was lost in the equity markets
yesterday has come roaring back today.
The U.S. dollar was stronger yesterday, but its way down today. Its down $1.09 today. Its at
$77.13. Gold is up to $10.53 at 13.45. It sold off, I dont know, $38 bucks yesterday, $36
yesterday. So this is a bounce back, but its not all the way back from where it was at its high
point yesterday. Silver is up over 2%. Its up $0.49 at $23.89.
This half of the hour were going to be talking with Jason Toussaint and hes the Managing Director
of the World Gold Council. I think youre going to find this interview interesting. Its going to
be a live interview. If you have a question that you would like to call in regarding gold or one
of the topics that were discussing, Id love youto have you be a part of this show.
Jason will be spending some time with us and look forward to our discussion on whats happening on
the world stage with regard to gold, whats happening here in the U.S., and what are the prospects
from afrom a strategic standpoint for precious metals as we go forward. So in a few moments,
wellwell punch Jason in and hell be a part of thepart of the show.
Ive also been discussing whats going on in the U.K. with regard to austerity measures, and will
that be successful? We have two schools of thought. We have austerity going on in Europe to try
to cut the deficit as a percentage EDP down. But we also have in the U.S. primarily a message of
stimulus what can the U.S. government do to stimulate the economy to create some inflation, and
not by cutting expenses, not by pulling away the punchbowl, but actually by increasing the
liquidity to try to pump some money into the market to get businesses growing again, to see a
little inflation, which would eventually lead to job growth.
Very different schools of thought. And it will be interesting to see how it plays out. We might
ask that question of Jason as well today. So if you want to be a part of the show, our number is
(877)341-2646. Again, (877) 341-2646.
A couple of the headlines regarding precious metals today, we have from The Daily Finance, Charles
LaLoggia. He says anyone who questions the wisdom of owning gold is not thinking clearly. This
idea of quantitative easingtheyre calling it QE2the fact isis that that will drive down the
value of the dollar. Thats been the big message thats been going on for the last two or three
weeks.
Will that continue? If the QAQE2 occurs, how much will the dollar fall? What does that mean for
commodities? What does that mean for precious metals? Im going to have an expert here with us
today toto bring that on.
So Brian, do you want to get Jason on thethe phone? Is he available?
BRIAN: Hes standing by here.
MR. CARTER: All right. Jason, are you there?
MR. TOUSSAINT: I am, Scott. Hi. How are you?
MR. CARTER: Im doing well. Thank you for being part of the show today.
MR. TOUSSAINT: My pleasure.
MR. CARTER: Yes. And youre in New York, right?
MR. TOUSSAINT: I am based in New York, yes.
MR. CARTER: Okay. Well, werewere in the bottom half of the hour here and Ive opened up the
phone lines for anybody who wants toto join in. I dont know if well get any callers on the
topic. Ive got a few questions myself that Id like you to weigh in on.
But let me give the listeners a little bit of your background, Jason. Youre Managing Director of
the World Gold Council. You have overall responsibility for global management and development of
gold ETFs, as well as overseeing North American investment research. Youre also the CEO of the
World Gold Trust Services and the sponsor of the SPDR Gold Trust, GLD. You joined World Gold
Council in April of 2009, and as we said, youre based in New York.
Youve got a wealth of knowledge in investment management, prior experiences from Northern Trust
Global Investments. Youve been involved in fixed income portfolio managers, JP Morgan Investment
Management in New York. You just have an incredible background and experience. So I want to thank
you for your time and being willing to come on the program.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Oh, its my pleasure to be here, Scott. And thank you for your kind words.
MR. CARTER: Sure. Well, just to get started, why dont we tell the listeners what is the World
Gold Council, and what role does it play in the marketplace? And how can everyday individuals
use the World Gold Council data and information thats out there in becoming informed? I know
I use it. But I think it would be helpful for them to hear from you.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Sure. Okay. Yeah. The World Gold Council is essentially a trade organization
that is funded by the gold mining industry. And we areour overall goal is to create and
sustain demand for gold across a number of sectors, and we can kind of get into each of those
sectors in a minute. But those are comprised of the investment sector, which you mentioned
that I manage; jewelry sector, which accounts for the majority of gold demand on an annual
basis; and then, finally, the industrial sector, which is mainly used in semiconductors and
some sorts of new technologies using gold nano particles.
Theif you think of gold as a commodity, whichwhich it is by definition, if you are a gold miner
and Im a gold miner, the difference between the end product that we present isis nothing. So we
cant really market Jasons gold as a superior product because its an element like all other gold.
The gold industry and the gold miners back in the 1980s came together and said, why dont we form
one organization to represent this industry to theto the marketplace? And again, we interface
with investors, jewelry producers and users, the industrial sector, and importantly, central banks
and regulators around the world.
MR. CARTER: And theits interesting the three sectors that you mentioned investment, jewelry,
and industrial. My guess would be that jewelry is down as far as a demand component and has
been forsince wesince we hit the recession in 08. But its been more than offset by a
renewed interest in investment demand. Is that a true statement?
MR. TOUSSAINT: Yeah. That isthat would be an accurate statement. I think theres a couple of
things going on here. With regard to jewelry, what we are finding is with the increasing
price there are smaller purchases, maybe for the same value, but the same amount of dollars
today buys you certainly less gold than it used to for those jewelry pieces. So we may find
people opting for lower caratage in their jewelry purchases.
I think more importantly, however, is on the investment sector people are I like to say
rediscovering gold as an asset class.
MR. CARTER: Mm-hmm.
MR. TOUSSAINT: And we cant forget that for an entire generation gold was not particularly
investable beyond numismatic coins because our currency was directly pegged to gold and was
sitting on the gold standard. Now that it is a freely traded commodity in the global
marketplace, and certainly coming out of the backdrop ofof the global crisis in particular in
2008, I think theon a global basis the investment community is now refocused once again on I
call it defensive portfolio construction, or saying, you know
MR. CARTER: [interposing] Mm-hmm.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Instead of how do I double my assets in the next three to four years, how do I
not lose half their value again?
MR. CARTER: Right.
MR. TOUSSAINT: And I think in that type of portfolio construction exercise, gold definitely has
a place in portfolio construction.
MR. CARTER: Maybe this is another way to say it. When I look at whats happening right now,
cost of capital or interest rates thats paid on fiat currencies, whether youve got ayou
know, a savings account or a CD, dividends that are paid by equities have been dropped
dramatically. The typical limitations when youre buying a physical asset such as gold where
it doesnt pay a dividend, where youre not getting a return on that money, those have been
negated by thethe essence of the market.
And thatthat is another reason whyalso its performance, but thats another reason why gold looks
more attractive today as a part of a portfolio than maybe whatwhat is looked like incertainly in
the 90s and the early 2000s.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Yeah. I wouldI would absolutely agree with that. I think wewe cant forget
that now gold is now being viewed, as youve mentioned, as part of an overall investment
portfolio. And I think certainly before thisthis past decade, most purchasers of gold would
buy physical bars and coins, and would historically view that as more a collectable than a
true asset class within the portfolio context and I think its a slight change of approach.
Its a change of investor mindset where now gold is viewed alongside other financial assets
within the portfolio. Part of that is due to the invention and the launch of gold backed
ETFs. I think part of that has to do as you just mentioned for a whole variety of reasons.
First and foremost financial crisis, turmoil, and lower interest rates. I think people should
also understand that there is because of globalization we cant sit back here comfortable in
the U.S. and say, Poor Greece. We are essentially dealing one global economy now that is
interlinked in many, many ways beyond simple currency movements. And gold has a way over long
periods of time, again hedging against a lot of those surprises.
INTERVIEWER: What I find interesting and Id like your view on is the significance of central
banks around the world purchasing gold. That was announced last week that South Korea was
going to increase its gold holdings and its basically in its reserve currency. We know that
India did that about a year and a half ago trying to add to its gold reserves; Russia, others.
To me thats a very significant message to the world especially in the currency markets of
what they view as true intrinsic value and assets versus a paper asset because if it were
truly just supply and demand, not currency related. If it were just whats going on in
jewelry, whats going on in other pieces industrial then you wouldnt see central bankers so
interested in one not only selling gold but also interested at price points to actually buy it
and put it on their balance sheet. Could you give me a little insights on that long term
[crosstalk]?
MR. TOUSSAINT: I think theres a couple of things to do discuss here. If we take a step back
and understand that central banks used to be a very substantial portion of supply and youve
just mentioned have moved slightly to the demand side of the equation if you will. But
central banks used to represent an official sector sales is how we refer to that. But they
used to represent upwards of 10% of annual supply. So thats quite important that 10% of
previous supplies now off the market which obviously is in favor of a sustained gold price.
In terms of, then central banks second point understanding that in a reserve asset management
context that gold may have a position again, a viable position, that is, again, rediscovering
the asset class. We cant forget that a lot of central banks around the world, particularly
western central banks, have their currencies directly pegged to gold for a long period of
time. I think were going through a pendulum swing and understanding, as youve just
mentioned, in central banks such as South Korea, China, Russia, India, etcetera saying our
currencies arent directly pegged to this asset. However should we be diversifying away from
potentially a huge holding in assets backed directly by the U.S. dollar? It could be
reflecting a couple of things. One is concern about the future of the U.S. dollar and its
direction. You had just mentioned quantitative easing. I heard an investor refer to that as
queasing. But we essentially have central banks around the world in a race to depreciate
their currencies and the U.S. involved in that. So I think in some sense, again, its your
point, moving away from fiat currencies back to something that has stored value for thousand
of years, over 5,000 years in the case of gold is something viable in todays world.
INTERVIEWER: Do you think it would go so far to the G-20 or the G-7 or maybe even under the
auspices of the IMF having some sort of basket of stabilization of a world reserve currency
that goes beyond the U.S. dollar that could be an intrinsic asset. It might be the U.S.
dollar,
the euro, and gold or some sort of basket that takes these currency swings off the table, if you
will. But they do it not on quote the good faith and credit of governments that can still print
money. But create some stability and so that theres a ceiling on how much money a government can
print based on GDP or based on their debt or something of that nature. Do you see us moving as a
world because I agree with you its a world economy. Do you see us moving in that direction?
MR. TOUSSAINT: I think there is absolutely dialogue along those lines taking place currently. I
think doing something like is extremely difficult to coordinate on a global basis. Its
nothing that cant be done but there are pros and cons to each of those. I cant profess to
know all of the benefits and the drawbacks to each country doing that. Having said that I
think the central bank in China came out with comments along the lines of concerns about the
longevity as the dollar as the reserve asset of choice, reserve currency of choice around the
world for years to come. So I know the conversations are taking place. Its anyones guess if
that kind of basket concept with gold as a component of it actually takes flight and is given
future consideration. It would be positive.
INTERVIEWER: Right. Because it seems like the world is, in some sense, putting these currencies
on a gold standard even though were not on a gold standard. Its every time that theres
seemingly a drop, a major drop, or if theres concern about currencies or quantitative easing
it seems to be highlighted most in the metals. Not just gold but silver as well. But gold
kind of is the bellwether of whats happening in the currency world.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Yeah but I would say, again, that the central banks, the official sector overall
moves very strategically and very slowly. I would say that the intraday movements in the gold
price are more due to investment and trading demand.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah okay. Folks were here with Jason Toussaint, Managing Director of the World
Gold Council. Were taking your questions. Youre listening to the American Advisor. Our
numbers (877) 341-2646. Call and be a part of the show maybe youve got a question or a
comment for Jason. Also if youve been listening and hearing for the last few weeks and
youre interested in how you might want to own physical gold were going to talk about ETFs in
a minute. But if youre interested in physical gold, Gold Line is the exclusive sponsor of
the American Advisor and theyre in that business. So you can call and get the investor kit,
read the risk disclosure information. Theyre number is (877) 341-2646. Jason, I want to
move into the ETF funds because theyve become so popular and thats a great way for many
individuals that arent necessarily looking to buy physical gold but they want to be in gold
as a commodity. They want to just track the price of the up and down of gold and the ETF fund
seems to be a way that has been very popular. The last time I checked GLD was probably behind
the U.S. probably had the second highest amount of gold ownership in the world. Is that a
true statement or maybe Im wrong on that? But I thought they had like 1,800 tons.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Well we have right now the SPDR Gold Shares owns about 1,300 tons.
INTERVIEWER: 1,300.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Yeah, which is valued at roughly $57 billion dollars. It is the second biggest
ETF in the world, the first being the SPY or the SDR from State Street Global Advisors. I
think its important to know we get this question in the market quite often, what is the best
way to buy gold? Should I buy bars and coins or the ETF, mining equities, futures, etcetera? What
do you guys recommend? And the bottom line is that there is no right or wrong way to own gold.
There are certain reasons why the ETF, I think, have taken off. First and foremost is ease of
access. You buy this ETF which is backed by physical gold alongside just like you do any other
share whether its GE, IBM, etcetera. So its very easy to purchase in the portfolio and we dont
need to worry about where do I store the gold bullion that Im accumulating or how do I go about
insuring it etcetera. Now that is to say that the ETF is not necessarily perfectly suited for
everyone. Im sure a number of listeners currently are more concerned about the longevity of the
global economy or perhaps accumulating gold for the so-called Armageddon scenario. If theres a
breakdown of law and order I need something to store some value and may choose the gold coins and
bars instead.
MR. CARTER: Right, well, and also theres a psychological component whether you think its an
Armageddon or not that just having something that you can see and touch in your hand, I liken
it to buying a piece of real estate versus investing in a real estate investment trust. Both
are legitimate. Both are great ways, could be positive for an investor, but the motivations
behind why you buy a physical asset could be very different whetherdepending on where you are
on the risk curve compared to on what your past experiences have been. And I think the same
thing is with the ETF funds as well.
MR. TOUSSAINT: I would absolutely agree, and I think theits important to note a couple of
things. With the advent of the ETF, I think I had mentioned this briefly but gold became
almost over night after the launch an investable portfolio-level asset, so if Im dealing with
my advisor from Schwab, or Fidelity, or wherever it is, and I want to buy gold, then its easy
for them to transact in the ETF on my behalf instead of asking them to go out and search for
areas and ways to accumulate the bullion itself. The other aspect is for some larger
investors, potentially pension funds or hedge funds, who want to accumulate very large
positions in gold bullion. It is far more efficient for them to do so in the ETF, at least
for a good portion of them. So, again, there is no right or wrong way. I think the genesis
of the gold ETFs was the Gold Council looking at the investment market, talking to investors
and saying, you know, you dont invest in gold now. Why is that? So we discovered a number
of issues, which again are issues for some investors and not others, and we came up with the
structure of the SPDR Gold Shares, which we think is an easy, transparent and effective way to
invest in bullion without getting the physical delivery.
MR. CARTER: And are the ETFs, and I know there are probably a lot around the world, but do most
of them have a one to one relationship on the amount of gold purchased to the amount of shares
sold, or are some of these ETF funds leveraged, Jason?
MR. TOUSSAINT: The ETFs that we track and we are involved in developing are all 100% backed by
the physical metal so they dont have any derivatives of any kind, and theyre not leveraged
to the market. I think there are a few ETFs that are available in the U.S. market that are
leveraged instruments, that offer, I think there is one that is called an ultra gold fund, or
something like that, which offers two times the return of spot gold on a daily basis. So they
do exist. You know, by definition those will not be 100% backed by physical bullion because
they need to employ derivative strategies to get that amount of leverage into the fund.
MR. CARTER: Theres aI dont know if its accurate or not. I cant get any data on it, but
theres a prevailing thought that if you look at all the contracts out there for gold, not
just the ETFs, but in the non-physical gold world, that there are many more gold shares sold,
not necessarily
ETFs, but just, you know, when you take the culmination around the world that gold is leveraged
quite a bit, that if you had to take, if everybody at the same time asked for physical possession
based on the contracts that are out there, there is not nearly enough gold to fill those contracts,
and some of that could just be how the market manages itself, but do you have an opinion on that?
Is that a fair statement?
MR. TOUSSAINT: Well, I think theres a couple of things to keep in mind. Not every gold
derivative is settled in physical bullion. Many derivatives are settled for cash, so it could
be a contract for a different sort of thing where it could be an option, for instance. With
the futures, however, by definition they are leveraged instruments, but we cant forget that
there is a clearly house involved, and there are two sides of that transaction. So,
essentially the futures market is what we call a zero sum game, somebody wins and somebody
loses but the net is zero, and there is enough gold to settle those contracts. Now, I cant
speak for every futures exchange around the world, but I know for the U.S. futures markets
there is enough metal.
With the ETFs, at least the ones that we track, and certainly in the case of SPDR Gold Shares,
theres no issue because theyre before any shares of GLD exist, the physical metal is on hand in
the vault.
MR. CARTER: Uh-huh, okay, great. Weve got a caller here, Steve. Im going to putexcuse me,
Jason. I want to put Steve on the line. Steve, youre on the American Advisor.
STEVE: Yes, Im enjoying your program. I wanted to ask a question. I heard it discussed on a
program recently, your program recently that China had claims against most if not all of the
gold reserves being held in Fort Knox as a backing collateral to back up all the paper, the
currency that China was holding because of all the huge trade imbalances that China has
enjoyed with the United States over the past quite a number of years, and they have lost some
confidence in all that paper currency because the world is awash in it because of all the
importing we do and very little exporting. Therefore, they have a claim against our gold.
Its secured against that, and that would seem to me that then the United States government
does not have really access to that gold reserves sort of as an asset of last resort. Im
wondering if that is the case what would that dowhat would that do to the likeliness of
making gold bullion being held by private citizens subject to confiscation so that the federal
government can sort of recoup some gold reserves and have more backing for its dollars, which
is losing confidence on world money exchanges.
MR. CARTER: Okay, Steve, thanks for the question. Jason, we haveweve got about 30, 40 seconds
before we have to wrap up on the half hour.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Okay, yeah, I think on that question Im highly doubtful that the U.S. government
has pledged any of its gold holding to a particular country. We cant forget that the assets
China are holding are in the form of treasury securities, whether theyre bills, notes, or
bonds, as well as currency directly, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the
government. They would not go outside of that to pledge any collateral to any particular
country holding those assets or any investor for that matter. So, I highly, highly doubt
that.
MR. CARTER: Great question, Steve, thanks. Hang on to the line. Jason, this has been a quick
25 minutes. Thank you so much for being a part of the show, and I would encourage folks to go
to the World Gold Council web site, but thank you for your time and thanks for joining our program.
Id like to have you on again some time.
MR. TOUSSAINT: Of course, it would be my pleasure and thanks for having me, Scott.
MR. CARTER: Folks, youre listening to the American Advisor, our number 877-341-2646.
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