Midas MarketScope

NEW YORK, NY – November 19, 2020

Midas MarketScope:  With COVID-19 cases hitting record levels, more than half a year after first appearing in the U.S., 2020 has been a difficult year. Investors who took a position in gold, gold mining shares, or gold mutual funds, such as Midas Fund, at the beginning of the year, however, have had some consolation as the price of gold has increased around 30% from November 2019. As 2021 approaches with the promise of an effective vaccine, what might we expect from gold in 2021? President-elect Biden campaigned in part on policies such as an aggressive stimulus package and massive student-loan forgiveness, which, if enacted, may increase the already substantial debt load of the U.S. Government. The consequence may be a weaker U.S. dollar and a higher price for gold. Therefore, although investing in precious metals can be speculative, gold related investments may have another strong year in 2021.

Midas Fund The Fund’s holding of Newmont Corporation, one of the largest gold mining companies in the world with operations in four continents, performed well in the last month. Shares of Sandstorm Gold, a gold royalty company with a portfolio of over 200 royalties on mines around the world, have underperformed in the last month.

The Fund seeks primarily capital appreciation and protection against inflation and, secondarily, current income through investments primarily in precious metals mining and other natural resource companies, as well as gold, silver, and platinum bullion. Using a disciplined approach, the Fund seeks to emphasize gold and other natural resource companies offering financial strength, expanding production profiles, strong free cash flow, and promising exploration potential. The Fund currently is invested in a global portfolio of primarily large and medium gold and diversified mining companies, precious metals royalty companies, and ETFs holding gold and silver bullion.

Midas Magic The Fund’s position Sleep Number Corp., a U.S.-based manufacturer of Sleep Number and Comfortaire beds and bedding accessories, performed well in the last month. The Fund’s holding of Biogen Inc., a global biotechnology company, hindered the Fund’s performance in the past month. Each of Mastercard Inc. Class A and Alphabet Inc. Class A currently comprise more than 10% of the Fund’s net assets.

The Fund seeks capital appreciation. Relative to the S&P 500, the Fund’s portfolio currently is more weighted in cyclical companies, such as financial services, and is underweight in economically sensitive and defensive industries. The Fund generally focuses on companies that appear to have strong operations showing superior returns on equity and assets with reasonable valuations.