This fellow is selling his product but he makes some good points. Tyhee will do better when the uncertainty about Greece is resolved and good news about the US economy filters through to the financial markets - US company earnings and consumer demand are improving - and when the price of gold moves up again.

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices may gain as investors seek a hedge against inflation and volatile markets, said Graham Tuckwell, chairman of ETF Securities Ltd.

There’s “a lot of safety in commodities, particularly in gold, as a good hedge against volatile times,” Tuckwell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “There’s a substantial upside” for gold “as inflation comes through the system and the whole concept of fiat currencies is questioned.”

Greece’s budget crisis has boosted demand for the precious metal in Europe as an alternative to the falling euro. Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,109 an ounce at 9:32 a.m. in Singapore. Prices are 9.6 percent below a record $1,226.56 set on Dec. 3.

ETF Securities said on Feb. 17. its precious metals, energy and agriculture exchange-traded products attracted a net $400 million in the first six weeks of 2010.

Gold held by ETF Securities Ltd. was 8.05 million ounces as of yesterday. Silver held in ETF’s European and Australian exchange-traded products rose to a record 25.985 million ounces on Feb. 22, according to the company’s Web site.

“In the next five to 10 years, the number could get to $3 trillion,” Tuckwell said, referring to the amount of assets in ETFs. “What we’ve seen is a mass of all of the money moving from the mutual money industry or trust industry towards the ETF industry, simply because the products are cheaper and more transparent.”

Tuckwell said he didn’t see a “bubble” in ETFs and expected Asian interest in ETF products to grow over time.

“Certainly there’s big investment demand out of Asia,” he said. “It’s just taking time for investors to understand these products.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at Kkim19@bloomberg.net; Haslinda Amin in Singapore at hamin1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 25, 2010 21:14 EST