All That Glitters

It's no surprise that the mutual funds (remember those things?) with the highest 10- year annualized return have the word gold, or precious metals in their name.

USAGX, USAA Precious Metals and Minerals, 31.39%
EKWYX, Wells Fargo Adv. Precious Metals I, 29.54%
TGLDX, Tocqueville Gold, 29.22%

...just to name a few.

None of these funds escaped 2008 unscathed, though. Gold can be a wild ride. And based on nothing but previous trends, I will call the gold price at the end of 2011 at $1875 plus or minus $100. My past prediction for the price of gold for end of year 2009 was $1200 - $2000. Not exactly pin-point accuracy . The price actually edged up over $1200 and then fell back during the last month of that year.

With current price of an ounce of gold just over $1400, my questions regarding this shiny, heavy substance relative to the eclectic group of periodic table elements has been answered at Planet Money. Find the podcast here. I didn't need to add that last sentence but I just like saying the word 'podcast'.