Gold On Track For First Annual Decline After 12 Straight Years Of Gains

• First Decline in 12 Years. Gold has dropped 25% over the past year and is on track for its first annual decline after 12 years of gains. Meanwhile, silver is down 33% YTD.
• Sprott Hedge Fund Down 50% YTD. The flagship fund of prominent Canadian hedge-fund manager Eric Sprott has fallen more than 50% this year in what will likely be the third consecutive year of double-digit percentage losses. According to the WSJ: assets managed by Mr. Sprott have collapsed from nearly $3 billion in 2008 to just $350 million today. About half of the money left in the firm’s main hedge funds comes from Mr. Sprott and his employees.
• Sprott Ousted From Investment Decisions. Since last fall, Sprott’s mutual-fund, private-equity and wealth-management arms have lost 30% of assets under management. Last month, Sprott Inc. announced that it is phasing Mr. Sprott out of major investment decisions at the firm and relegating him to a new role of “chief cheerleader duties.”
• John Paulson Gold Fund Also Down Big. The PFR Gold fund, managed by billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, has lost 63% for the year through the end of October.
• Hedge Funds = Gold Bears. Hedge funds are the least bullish on gold since 2007 and the most negative on silver since data began being collected in 2006.
  
• Billionaire Jim Rogers Weighs in on Gold/Silver. In a recent interview, the investment legend says he is hedging gold, not silver, and will buy even more if prices fall further… Why? “Because gold is going to go to huge numbers before this is all over.”
Read More @ WSJ