The $615 million fund is shifting into the non-precious sector "in response to the increasing concentration of the metals and mining industries, a trend that limited the options available to the funds investment advisor, " the company said in a statement.
Said Vanguard Chairman and CEO John Brennan, "Expanding the funds investment universe will provide greater flexibility to the funds advisor and should reduce the funds volatility." We believe the fund should continue to exhibit a low correlation to the performance of the broad equity market, and thereby provide diversification within an overall investment portfolio."
The 20-year-old Precious Metals Fund, which Vanguard itself admits carries some additional risks because of its non-parallelism with the equity markets, will continue its emphasis on precious metals like gold but will no longer exclude the non-precious metals and minerals like nickel and copper.
