The hedge fund run by John Paulson, one of the world’s highest-profile gold bulls, has sold more than half its shares in the largest exchange traded fund backed by the metal, according to a regulatory filing.
However, Paulson & Co offset much of its sale of about 1.1m ounces of bullion held in SPDR Gold Shares in the second quarter by buying gold swaps on the over-the-counter market, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr Paulson’s activities in the gold market have been religiously followed since the fund manager, who made billions predicting the US housing crash, accumulated a large quantity of the metal in 2009, when he started allowing investors to denominate holdings in gold rather than dollars.