Gold’s unrelenting climb from one record high to another in recent times can have escaped no-one, and a new indicator of the precious metal’s ongoing popularity has come with news that now the world’s largest exchange-traded fund is one exposed to gold rather than equities.

State Street Global Advisors’ SPDR GLD ETF ended last week with $76.7 billion in assets, surpassing for the first time the SPDR S&P 500 ( $74.4 billion), which was the world’s first ETF when it launched in 1993. At the end of July the situation was rather different, with the equities vehicle way in front with $93.3 billion in assets to the gold ETF’s $66 billion.

Sovereign debt concerns have sent investors scrambling for the safe haven of gold in past months, pushing the precious metal ever higher. It hit $1,877 an ounce on Friday, and many commentators expect it to reach $2,000/oz before the year is out.

Of course, there are those worried that a bubble is forming but many are still banging the drum for gold, citing its hedging benefits at a time when equity markets are alarmingly volatile.

In addition to those who fear that the gold bubble may be set to burst once market sentiment calms down, others also point to the fact that over the long term gold hasn’t exactly been a stellar performer. Speaking to Bloomberg last week Wells Fargo’s chief investment officer Dean Junkans pointed out that despite the current outbreak of gold fever, the metal is still trading well below its 1980 inflation-adjusted peak of $2,226.