Fintech
Gold and Special Minerals Fund Holdings Monthly Update – May 2023 and Attribution Analysis
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – May 30, 2023) – This report details the most recent portfolio holdings for Gold & Precious Metal Managed Funds and summarizes changes in portfolio holdings.
A Copy of the Full Report is Available at the Link Below:
https://mailchi.mp/mineralfunds/portfolio-holdings-monthly-update-may-2023
Gold & Precious Metal Managed Funds included in this report:
A portfolio holding ‘attribution analysis‘ is undertaken on the portfolios of gold funds that report asset allocations monthly, and on any fund with assets that exceed $1 Billion USD and that reports during the period.
The attribution analysis includes a list of companies which are new to a portfolio in the period ‘New Company Holdings’, and companies which have been eliminated from a portfolio during the period ‘Companies Divested’.
FUNDS REPORTING MONTHLY
31.Mar.2023 | $1,810 M USD |
New Company Holdings | Companies Divested |
Atex Resources, Inc. | BeMetals Corp. |
Guanajuato Silver Co. Ltd. | Pure Gold Mining, Inc. |
Largest Position: | |
Agnico Eagle M. Ltd. (TSX: AEM) | 8.4% |
Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USA) Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (Lux)
30.Apr.2023 | $1,010 M USD | 30.Apr.2023 | $445 M USD |
New Company Holdings | Companies Divested | New Company Holdings | Companies Divested |
Montage Gold Corp. | None | Montage Gold Corp. | None |
Largest Position: | Largest Position: | ||
Endeavor Mining (TSX: EDV) | 5.2% | Endeavor Mining (TSX: EDV) | 5.2% |
VanEck International Investors Gold Fund VanEck VIP Global Gold Fund
30.Apr.2023 | $791 M USD | 30.Apr.2023 | $60.5 M USD |
New Company Holdings | Companies Divested | New Company Holdings | Companies Divested |
West Red Lake Gold Mines | Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. | West Red Lake Gold Mines | Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. |
Largest Position: | Largest Position: | ||
Agnico Eagle M. Ltd. (TSX: AEM) | 6.7% | Agnico Eagle M. Ltd. (TSX: AEM) | 6.8% |
ATTRIBUTION ANALYSIS FOR FUNDS REPORTING MONTHLY
AUM for Fidelity Select Gold Fund have increased since the time of our last update (Sep.2022) from $1,179 M USD to $1,810 M USD (Mar.2023) (+53.5%).
The Fund reported 2 new positions in Mar.2023: ATEX Resources Inc. (CVE: ATX) and Guanajuato Silver Co. Ltd. (TSXV: GSVR).
ATEX Resources Inc. is a Latin America-focused (principally Chile) exploration company headed up by experienced mining entrepreneur Raymond Jannas who is leading a team of professionals with the goal of discovering economically viable mineral deposits through a disciplined approach to exploration.
On August 4, 2022, Guanajuato Silver Co. Ltd. acquired all the Mexican assets of Great Panther Mining. This transaction expanded Guanajuato Silver’s operations to a total of five mines and three production facilities.
During the most recent reporting period (Mar.2023), Fidelity Select Gold Fund divested from BeMetals Corp. (TSXV: BMET) which is advancing gold exploration targets in Kyushu, Japan. The Fund’s holding of Pure Gold Mining Inc. (NEX: PGM.H) was liquidated with West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: WRLG) acquiring the historic Madsen Gold Mine.
Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USA)
AUM for Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USA) have increased since the time of our last update (Oct.2022) from $831 M USD to $1,010 M USD (Apr.2023) (+21.5%).
The Fund reported a new position in: Montage Gold Corp. (CVE: MAU).
Montage Gold Corp. is headed up by Richard P. Clark, formerly CEO of Red Back Mining Inc. which sold to Kinross for $7.1 B USD, and is supported by a team recognized for discovering, building, operating, and growing major gold deposits in West Africa.
Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (Lux)
AUM for Franklin Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USA) have increased since the time of our last update (Oct.2022) from $329 M USD to $445 M USD (Apr.2023) (+35.2%).
VanEck International Investors Gold Fund
AUM for VanEck International Investors Gold Fund have increased since the time of our last update (Oct.2022) from $588 M USD to $791 M USD (Apr.2023) (+34.5%).
The Fund reported a new position in: West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: WRLG)
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. recently acquired the historic Madsen Gold Mine from Pure Gold Mining Inc.
The Fund’s position in Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. was acquired by B2Gold Corporation (TSX: BTO).
AUM for VanEck VIP Global Gold Fund have increased since the time of our last update (Oct.2022) from $37 M USD to $60.5 M USD (Apr.2023) (+63.5%).
The Fund reported a new position in West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: WRLG) which acquired the historic Madsen Gold Mine from Pure Gold Mining Inc. in receivership. The Fund’s position in Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. was acquired in full by B2Gold Corporation (TSX: BTO).
FUNDS WITH AUM > $1 BILLION USD
BlackRock Global Funds World Gold Fund
Fund Comparison: August 31st, 2022 / February 28th, 2023
28.Feb.2023 | $3,823 B USD |
New Company Holdings | Companies Divested |
Pan American Silver Corp. | Castile Resources Ltd. |
Rupert Resources Ltd. | |
Largest Position: | |
Endeavor Mining (TSX: EDV) | 7.4% |
Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (USA)
Fund Comparison: October 31st, 2022 / January 31st, 2023
31.Jan.2023 | $2,065 B USD |
New Company Holdings | Companies Divested |
Teck Resources Ltd. | Lake Resources |
Alcoa Corp. | Westgold Resources Ltd. |
Piedmont Lithium Inc. | Equinox Gold Corp. |
Maverix Metals, Inc. | |
Minera Alamos, Inc. | |
New Gold Inc. | |
Novagold Resources Inc. | |
Jervois Global Ltd. | |
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. | |
Largest Position: | |
Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) | 7.4% |
ATTRIBUTION ANALYSIS FOR FUNDS WITH ASSETS > $1B USD
BlackRock Global Funds World Gold Fund
AUM for the world’s largest gold equities fund, BlackRock Global Funds World Gold Fund (BGF World Gold Fund), increased over the reporting period from (Aug.2022) to (Feb.2023) from $3,351 M USD to $3,823 M USD (+14.1%).
The Fund reported 2 new positions: Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX: PAAS) and Rupert Resources Ltd. (TSX: RUP).
On March 31, 2023, Pan American Silver Corp. acquired the Latin American mines and properties of Yamana Gold Inc. In the 6 months to Feb.2023 BGF World Gold Fund took up a new position in Pan American Silver Corp.
Rupert Resources Ltd. is advancing the Ikkari Discovery in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in the Tier 1 mining jurisdiction of Finland. In the 6 months to Feb.2023 BGF World Gold Fund took up a new position in Rupert Resources Ltd.
In the 6 months to Feb.2023, the Fund divested from Australian listed Castile Resources Ltd. (ASX: CST). Castile’s flagship asset is the Rover 1 IOCG Project located in the Rover Mineral Field in the Northern Territory. Castile has supported a public listing since January 2020 and released a pre-feasibility report for Rover 1 on January 31st, 2023.
Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (USA)
AUM for Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (USA) increased over the reporting period from (Oct.2022) to (Jan.2023) from $1,533 M USD to $2,066 M USD (+34.7%).
In the most recent reporting quarter (Oct.2022-Jan.2023), Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund has taken on 3 new positions: Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX: TECK.B), Alcoa Corp. (NASDAQ: AA) and Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ: PLL).
Teck Resources Ltd. is in public takeover discussions with Glencore plc (LON: GLEN). Piedmont Lithium Inc. is an Australian mining company in the process of proving economic mineral recovery of lithium in Gaston County, North Carolina.
During the reporting period (Oct.2022-Jan.2023), the Fund divested from several public company holdings including: Lake Resources Co. (ASX: LKE), Westgold Resources Ltd. (ASX: WGX), Equinox Gold Co. (TSX: EQX), Maverix Metals Inc. (TSX: MMX), Minera Alamos Inc. (CVE: MAI), New Gold Inc. (TSX: NGD), NovaGold Resources Mining Co. (TSX: NG), Jervois Mining Ltd. (CVE: JRV) and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (JSE: ANG).
Maverix Metals Inc. (TSX: MMX) was taken over by Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. on January 12th, 2023. The remaining companies were portfolio divestitures during the quarter.
‘Increasing Shareholding’ and ‘Decreasing Shareholding’ fields identify companies to which a fund is either increasing or, alternatively, decreasing exposure. This portfolio analysis information is available to Substack subscribers only.
A complete list of Gold and Precious Metal Managed Funds and their respective portfolio holdings can be found at:
https://mineralfunds.com/gold-funds/
Reported by: Christopher Berlet BSc, CFA Supported By: Khadijah Samnani, Analyst
For further information please contact:
(416) 525 – 6869
[email protected]
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/168025
Fintech
How to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels
Modern brands stake on influencer marketing, with 76% of users making a purchase after seeing a product on social media.The cryptocurrency industry is no exception to this trend. However, promoting crypto products through influencer marketing can be particularly challenging. Crypto influencers pose a significant risk to a brand’s reputation and ROI due to rampant scams. Approximately 80% of channels provide fake statistics, including followers counts and engagement metrics. Additionally, this niche is characterized by high CPMs, which can increase the risk of financial loss for brands.
In this article Nadia Bubennnikova, Head of agency Famesters, will explore the most important things to look for in crypto channels to find the perfect match for influencer marketing collaborations.
-
Comments
There are several levels related to this point.
LEVEL 1
Analyze approximately 10 of the channel’s latest videos, looking through the comments to ensure they are not purchased from dubious sources. For example, such comments as “Yes sir, great video!”; “Thanks!”; “Love you man!”; “Quality content”, and others most certainly are bot-generated and should be avoided.
Just to compare:
LEVEL 2
Don’t rush to conclude that you’ve discovered the perfect crypto channel just because you’ve come across some logical comments that align with the video’s topic. This may seem controversial, but it’s important to dive deeper. When you encounter a channel with logical comments, ensure that they are unique and not duplicated under the description box. Some creators are smarter than just buying comments from the first link that Google shows you when you search “buy YouTube comments”. They generate topics, provide multiple examples, or upload lists of examples, all produced by AI. You can either manually review the comments or use a script to parse all the YouTube comments into an Excel file. Then, add a formula to highlight any duplicates.
LEVEL 3
It is also a must to check the names of the profiles that leave the comments: most of the bot-generated comments are easy to track: they will all have the usernames made of random symbols and numbers, random first and last name combinations, “Habibi”, etc. No profile pictures on all comments is also a red flag.
LEVEL 4
Another important factor to consider when assessing comment authenticity is the posting date. If all the comments were posted on the same day, it’s likely that the traffic was purchased.
2. Average views number per video
This is indeed one of the key metrics to consider when selecting an influencer for collaboration, regardless of the product type. What specific factors should we focus on?
First & foremost: the views dynamics on the channel. The most desirable type of YouTube channel in terms of views is one that maintains stable viewership across all of its videos. This stability serves as proof of an active and loyal audience genuinely interested in the creator’s content, unlike channels where views vary significantly from one video to another.
Many unauthentic crypto channels not only buy YouTube comments but also invest in increasing video views to create the impression of stability. So, what exactly should we look at in terms of views? Firstly, calculate the average number of views based on the ten latest videos. Then, compare this figure to the views of the most recent videos posted within the past week. If you notice that these new videos have nearly the same number of views as those posted a month or two ago, it’s a clear red flag. Typically, a YouTube channel experiences lower views on new videos, with the number increasing organically each day as the audience engages with the content. If you see a video posted just three days ago already garnering 30k views, matching the total views of older videos, it’s a sign of fraudulent traffic purchased to create the illusion of view stability.
3. Influencer’s channel statistics
The primary statistics of interest are region and demographic split, and sometimes the device types of the viewers.
LEVEL 1
When reviewing the shared statistics, the first step is to request a video screencast instead of a simple screenshot. This is because it takes more time to organically edit a video than a screenshot, making it harder to manipulate the statistics. If the creator refuses, step two (if only screenshots are provided) is to download them and check the file’s properties on your computer. Look for details such as whether it was created with Adobe Photoshop or the color profile, typically Adobe RGB, to determine if the screenshot has been edited.
LEVEL 2
After confirming the authenticity of the stats screenshot, it’s crucial to analyze the data. For instance, if you’re examining a channel conducted in Spanish with all videos filmed in the same language, it would raise concerns to find a significant audience from countries like India or Turkey. This discrepancy, where the audience doesn’t align with regions known for speaking the language, is a red flag.
If we’re considering an English-language crypto channel, it typically suggests an international audience, as English’s global use for quality educational content on niche topics like crypto. However, certain considerations apply. For instance, if an English-speaking channel shows a significant percentage of Polish viewers (15% to 30%) without any mention of the Polish language, it could indicate fake followers and views. However, if the channel’s creator is Polish, occasionally posts videos in Polish alongside English, and receives Polish comments, it’s important not to rush to conclusions.
Example of statistics
Wrapping up
These are the main factors to consider when selecting an influencer to promote your crypto product. Once you’ve launched the campaign, there are also some markers to show which creators did bring the authentic traffic and which used some tools to create the illusion of an active and engaged audience. While this may seem obvious, it’s still worth mentioning. After the video is posted, allow 5-7 days for it to accumulate a basic number of views, then check performance metrics such as views, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), signups, and conversion rate (CR) from clicks to signups.
If you overlooked some red flags when selecting crypto channels for your launch, you might find the following outcomes: channels with high views numbers and high CTRs, demonstrating the real interest of the audience, yet with remarkably low conversion rates. In the worst-case scenario, you might witness thousands of clicks resulting in zero to just a few signups. While this might suggest technical issues in other industries, in crypto campaigns it indicates that the creator engaged in the campaign not only bought fake views and comments but also link clicks. And this happens more often than you may realize.
Summing up, choosing the right crypto creator to promote your product is indeed a tricky job that requires a lot of resources to be put into the search process.
Author
Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters
Fintech
Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space
The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.
Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.
Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.
The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.
As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.
Source: fintech.globa
The post Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
Fintech
TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud
TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.
The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.
This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.
TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.
Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.
TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.
Source: fintechfutures.com
The post TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
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