$1.2 Billion Fund Makes the Case for Gold

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices extended gains Friday on safe-haven buying and a weaker dollar. U.S. stocks resumed their historic decline, capping off another volatile week on Wall Street.

BARRONS---Matthew McLennan owns gold bullion because the future - now more than ever - is uncertain. 'If we knew what the future held, we'd probably have either all equities or all gold. But to recognize the limits of your knowledge is an important reason to own gold,' says McLennan, co-portfolio manager of the $1.2 billion First Eagle Gold fund....With the Federal Reserve and other central banks slashing interest rates and taking other steps to support markets, the yellow metal surged to levels not seen since early 2013 on Tuesday. The monetary policy response and Congress' $2 trillion stimulus plan 'are the best thing that can happen to gold in the long-term,' co-portfolio manager Thomas Kertsos says...'It's very hard to imagine that we are going to get out of this without inflationary or deflationary consequences, which opens risks and opportunities for the absolute and real price of gold going forward.'....Physical gold is the fund's top holding, setting it apart from other gold mutual funds. Also unique is the managers' silver bullion position, a top-six holding."