Mr. Bradshaw: Evergreen Investments is one of the brand names under which Wells Fargo & Company conducts its investment management business. Evergreen serves more than 4 million individual and institutional investors through a broad range of investment products. We strive to meet client investment objectives through disciplined, team-based asset management. As of Dec. 31, 2009, Evergreen managed more than $140 billion in assets.
More specifically, I manage the Evergreen Precious Metals Fund, which I've been involved with for over three years now. Its assets under management are about $1.2 billion. I joined the portfolio management team for the Fund in October of 2006.
Evergreen Precious Metals Fund is a global fund that invests in precious metals companies as well as the underlying commodity. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the common stocks of companies that are engaged in the exploration, development, mining and processing of gold or other precious metals. The fund currently has exposure to the major gold-producing regions of the world, including China, Australia, South Africa, and North and South America.
TWST: Tell us a bit about this bull market for gold and precious metal equities.
Mr. Bradshaw: It's now been nine years that the gold price has risen on a year-over-year basis. I'm not sure, but I believe that makes its performance unique among most every other commodity. Gold prices, which bottomed in March of 2001 at around $250 an ounce, have increased four-fold to over $1,000 per ounce today. Gold prices benefitted as the trade-weighted dollar declined 30% and the S&P moved sideways over the similar time period. In addition, the rise of emerging markets and the concurrent increase in demand for and prices of commodities helped fuel a rise in inflation, which caused gold prices to move even higher.
More recently, gold prices have been supported by the global fiscal and monetary stimulus packages implemented by central banks around the world. This has led to a sharp rebound in equity markets and commodity prices.
Tickers included in this excerpt: ABX, AEM, EGO, FRES, GOLD, NEM, PE_OLES, RBI
For more information call (212) 952 7433. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.