Prized Possessions Precious Metals in Uncertain Times
In the most difficult markets, no other asset has had quite the hold on investors throughout history as precious metals—gold, silver, platinum, and other metals of high intrinsic value. Search the headlines during any national or worldwide economic crisis and you'll invariably find accounts of investors scrambling for precious metals. While the stocks of precious metal companies don't necessarily move in lockstep with these metals, they can move in the same direction.
Whether you believe today's uncertainty will drive up prices for precious metals and, in turn prices for precious metal companies, or you want the security that you believe these stocks may provide during turbulent markets, Precious Metals UltraSector ProFund (PMPIX) offers broad exposure to this sector.
The Fund seeks daily investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to 150% of the daily performance of the Dow Jones Precious Metals Index, which represents the performance of U.S.-traded stocks of companies engaged in the exploration of gold, silver, and platinum-group metals.
Component companies include leading miners and producers of gold, silver, and platinum-group metals whose securities are available to U.S. investors during U.S. trading hours. (Note: It is not possible to invest directly in an index.)
And If You Think Precious Metals May Sink
Should precious metals become too extravagantly priced in your view, consider Short Precious Metals ProFund (SPPIX). This ProFund seeks daily investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to the inverse (opposite) of the daily performance of the Dow Jones Precious Metals Index.
As with all ProFunds, the two Precious Metals ProFunds allow you to easily exchange between them as your market views change.
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Please note that non-diversified funds and narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility.
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Many ProFunds routinely employ leveraged investment techniques that magnify gains and losses, and result in greater volatility in value. Each geared (leveraged or inverse) ProFund seeks a return that is a multiple (e.g., 2x, -2x) of the return of an index or other benchmark (target) for a single day. Due to the compounding of daily returns, geared ProFunds' returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the same period. These effects may be more pronounced in funds with larger or inverse multiples and in funds with volatile benchmarks. Investors should monitor their ProFunds holdings consistent with their strategies, as frequently as daily. For more on risks, please read the prospectus.
ProFunds are not suitable for all investors because of the sophisticated techniques the funds employ. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. ProFunds entail certain risks, including risk associated with the use of derivatives (swap agreements, futures contracts and similar instruments), imperfect benchmark correlation, leverage and market price variance, all of which can increase volatility and decrease performance. For more on correlation, leverage and other risks, please read the prospectus. There is no guarantee any ProFund will achieve its investment objective.
All ProFunds are subject to active investor risk. There are no restrictions on the size and frequency of trades and no transaction fees. The frequent exchanges our policies permit can decrease performance, increase expenses and cause investors to incur tax consequences.
Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of ProFunds before investing. This and other information can be found in their summary and full prospectuses. Read them carefully before investing.
ProFunds are distributed by ProFunds Distributors, Inc.
