"Investing in small gold and silver miners has gotten a whole lot easier, via a new ETF," reports growth stock specialist Stephen Leeb in his top-notch advisory, The Complete Investor.

"When it comes to mining stocks, there are two broad groups: a handful of majors, with producing properties and frequently strong finances, and the riskier—but potentially highly rewarding—junior miners. 

"The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NASDAQ:GDXJ) holds a fixed portfolio of up-and-coming publicly traded small- and medium-cap companies. 

"To be included, a company must generate at least 50% of its revenue from gold and/or silver mining, hold real property with the potential to produce at least 50% of the company’s revenue from gold or silver mining when developed, or invest primarily in gold or silver.

"And the stock must have a market cap above $150 million, daily average trading volume of at least $1 million, and at least 250,000 shares traded per month over the last six months.

"Many of the fund’s holdings produce little revenue and operate at a loss, making them highly risky. Still, you’re spreading that risk across the ETF’s nearly 40 stocks, so problems with one won’t jeopardize your entire investment.

"Another plus is the fund’s global scope: while most of its holdings are North American names, it also owns companies from Australia, China, South Africa, and the UK, giving you access to stocks it would be hard to research or buy individually. The fund’s annual expense ratio is capped at 0.6%."