Mark Dampier: This small, flexible fund could be a little gold mine

Owning gold used to be fraught with difficulty for retail investors. Transporting, securing and insuring the bullion added to the cost and hassle of ownership. Traditionally, investors bullish on gold therefore bought shares in gold mining companies. This had the added advantage of exposing investors to a gearing effect. As the gold bullion price rose companies that kept their costs stable could make increasing profits on each ounce of gold mined. Higher earnings and profits can eventually translate into a higher share price.