pug, problems with the ETF and Perth Mint would only come to light when people demand the physical, either by collecting the physical or forcing them to sell to re-imburse in fiat.
The prospectus for the original gold ETF, GLD, is quite specific. The do not hold the gold in an allocated account, they do not have to hold the gold in their own vaults, gold can be held in third party vaults, they do not have control over the asset backing the ETF price and there is no requirement for an audit of the gold. No need for any conspiracy theories - if you are happy to invest on that basis of trust, that's fine. Like MFGlobal, Peregrine etc and any other Ponzi scheme, the truth will only ever come to light after it is too late for the normal investor to do anything about it.
