Perhaps the biggest piece of news ASX investors received today was the price of gold reaching a new all-time high. An all-time high price for any asset is normally newsworthy in itself. But for an asset that is thousands of years old and predates every stock exchange on the planet, it’s truly a momentous occasion.

So this morning, gold breached the US$1,920 an ounce high watermark that we last saw back in 2011 and went on to set a new record high of US$1,944 an ounce. Since gold was asking around US$1,500 an ounce at the start of the year, it has been a great year to own gold or gold-backed assets.

So, with gold at these new highs, is it too late to invest in gold? Well, before we answer that question, it’s worth noting that there are many different ways to invest in gold. There are physical bullion or gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for one. But today, we’re going to be talking gold miners, an increasingly popular way of gaining leveraged exposure to the gold price.

I say ‘leveraged’ because a gold miner is theoretically leveraged to the gold price. If it costs a gold miner US$1,000 to extract an ounce of gold, and gold is priced at US$1,500 an ounce, then the value of that ounce is only worth US$500 to the miner. But if the gold price rises 33.33% from US$1,500 an ounce to US$2,000 an ounce, the miners’ profitability rises by 100%. So you can see why miners are a popular way to try and profit from rising gold.

And on the ASX, there’s one major gold miner ETF that has been gaining a lot of attention recently.

Enter the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX)

This ETF is from investment stalwart VanEck and tracks a basket of (currently) 53 global gold mining companies. It charges a management fee of 0.53% per annum. Some of its top holdings are the internationally-based Newmont Corp, Barrick Gold and the Franco-Nevada Corporation. But ASX-listed Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) makes an appearance with a 4.98% weighting as well.

In the last 12 months, this ETF has delivered an eye-watering return of 46.43%. Over the past 5 years, it boasts a still-respectable annual average return of 18.84%. Of this number, only 0.71% was from dividend distributions, the remaining coming from raw capital appreciation.

Is this ETF a buy today?

A buy case for this ETF today rests on one tenet – do you think gold will climb higher from here? Nothing is free in this world, and ASX gold miners are no different. If the gold price rises further from here, it is likely that this ETF will follow suit. However, if it falls, you might be looking at some serious capital losses. Remember, leveraged investments cut both ways.

So if you’re bullish on gold for the rest of 2020 and beyond, I think this ETF could be a nice avenue to walk down. But it remains a risky investment strategy, and one I would only allocate a small portion of your total portfolio to as a result.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Lynas rockets on U.S. deal, gold miners surge, bank shares tumble
• Why the gold price just stormed to a record high
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX has week of high volatility
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• New tailwind pushes gold price closer to record highs

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Newcrest Mining Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 0.3% today to 6,044 points despite initially being in the red this morning.

In NSW, first home property buyers are getting boost as brand new homes priced under $800,000 temporarily won’t have to pay stamp duty. The NSW government hopes this will boost construction and support building industry jobs. Vacant land will also be eligible for the relief.

Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) US acquisition

Fund manager Perpetual announced that it’s going to acquire a 75% stake in US-based asset manager Barrow Hanley for $465 million.

Barrow Hanley manages approximately US$44.1 billion of funds across US, global, and emerging market equities as well as fixed income strategies.

Perpetual said it was an important acquisition to deliver sustained quality growth and it will diversify its investment capabilities.

The ASX 200 fund manager business expects to add more than 20% of underlying earnings per share (EPS) on an annualised basis from the date of completion. The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the first half of FY21, subject to the usual approvals.

The acquisition will be funded by a combination of a capital raising, a new debt facility and existing cash.

Perpetual is going to raise $225 million in a fully underwritten institutional placement and then it hopes to raise another $40 million in a share purchase plan (SPP). The debt facility is for $284 million. The raising price is $30.30 per share, a 9.8% discount to the last closing price.

The acquisition is expected to more than triple Perpetual’s funds under management (FUM) from $28.4 billion to $92.3 billion.

The ASX 200 business said it’s expecting a statutory net profit of $82 million for FY20 and an underlying profit after tax of $93.5 million.

Emeco Holdings Limited (ASX: EHL) FY20 result

Mining heavy equipment rental business Emeco announced its FY20 result today.

Emeco’s revenue rose by 16.3% to $540.4 million. Iron ore revenue more than tripled and gold revenue more than doubled. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 15% to $246.1 million. Operating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 10% to $138.2 million and operating net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 39% to $87.5 million.

The statutory NPAT rose 94.7% to $66.1 million.  Emeco said it generated “strong” free cash flow of $71.2 million.

Managing director of Emeco, Ian Testrow, spoke about the company’s aims for this year: “Our goals for FY21 are consistent to continue to diversify our commodity mix, expand the services the business provides, adding capital-light earnings, and continue to generate strong return on capital and cash flows to further deleverage. This will ensure we drive sustained shareholder returns.”

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) acquisition

The ASX 200 gold miner announced today it has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Moose River Resources Incorporated (MRRI). After this acquisition, St Barbara will own 100% of the Touquoy Mine and surrounding exploration tenements.

The proposal is that St Barbara will acquire the remaining shares for cash of approximately C$60 million. It will be funded from St Barbara’s existing cash reserves. The deal will require approval of 75% of MRRI shareholders and it’s subject to normal approvals.

St Barbara expects to complete the deal in early September 2020.

Mr Craig Jetson, managing director and CEO of St Barbara, said: “Touquoy is a low-cost operation, generating impressive margins and is located in a very favourable and prospective jurisdiction. It produced a record 106,663 ounces of gold in FY20, reinforcing the credentials of this operation and the value it is delivering to St Barbara.

“Assuming full control of the business will provide operational efficiencies , deliver financial benefits and allow us to truly realise the potential of the asset. In addition to developing our existing project pipeline we are exploring in the Moose River Corridor and elsewhere in Nova Scotia to identify further development opportunities.”

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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