Closed-end bullion funds are coming out in all flavours now.

Brompton Funds Managements Ltd. has filed a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering for its Precious Metals Bullion Trust that will invest in physical gold, silver and platinum.

The offering for Precious Metals Bullion Trust is $12 per combined unit. Each one will include one transferable unit plus a warrant that allows investors to buy a unit at a price of $12 on or before next January 31. Every quarter, investors will be able to redeem units at a price equal to 100 per cent of the net asset value.

While proceeds from the offering will be used to buy equal amounts of the three metals, the fund will not rebalance the portfolio back to equal weightings after closing. Because precious metals are quoted in U.S. dollars, the value of the portfolio will be hedged back to Canadian dollars.

Until recently, Central Fund of Canada , which invests in gold and silver, and Central Gold Trust , which invests in gold, have had the field to themselves. While closed-end funds often trade at a discount to net asset value, the fact that these two funds trade at a premium to NAV undoubtedly has others rushing in to a piece of the action.

Claymore Investments Inc. recently raised about $433-million with its IPO of Claymore Gold Bullion Trust, and it has filed a preliminary prospectus for the Claymore Silver Bullion Trust. These funds will convert into exchange-traded funds if their price trades at a discount to their NAV six months after they began trading.

BetaPro Management Inc. has also filed a preliminary prospectus for Horizons BetaPro Double Gold Bullion. It will allow investors to redeem their units for physical gold instead of cash under certain conditions.

With these funds marketed to investors for everything ranging from an inflation hedge to an asset class that is not correlated with bonds or equities, you can surely expect more new kids on the bullion block.