Sprott is a niche asset manager attempting to keep up with the industry. It retains its Average Parent rating.
The firm has refocused its priorities on equity precious metals investing under CEO Whitney George. After founder Eric Sprott stepped down from the company’s board in 2017, the firm spun off its non-precious-metals vehicles and acquired a gold exchange-traded fund, a silver ETF, and a US-based actively managed open-end mutual fund focused on gold-mining stocks. More recently, the firm launched six passively managed ETFs since 2023, all of which focus on precious metals and materials. While the ETFs remain relatively small, the firm had USD 31.1 billion in assets under management as of June 2024, the majority of which were in its precious metals physical trusts and ETFs.
The firm has ample resources to support these strategies, but certain concerns remain. Among the firm’s more than 30 investment professionals is lead manager of Sprott Gold Equity John Hathaway, who came aboard as part of the firm’s 2020 acquisition of Tocqueville’s gold strategies. With more than 50 years of industry experience, Hathaway has no plans to retire anytime soon, but his longtime comanager Doug Groh abruptly retired in mid-2024. Despite sufficient staffing on the fund’s active strategies, many passive options, including new ones here, are reliable substitutes. Overall, the firm’s lineup of strategies is highly susceptible to the underlying commodities in which they invest, making Sprott’s funds quite volatile and generally best suited to play a small role in an investor’s broader portfolio.
Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, Sprott (Branding Name ID: BN00000A2A), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.
United States