UPDATE 1-Jana returned to gold for 1st time in a year as prices surged

(Adds detail throughout, CI Investments filing)
May 16 (Reuters) - Jana Partners LLC returned to gold in the
first quarter for the first time in a year, a filing showed on
Monday, the latest fund to pile back into bullion as
expectations for U.S. interest rate hikes waned, spurring the
biggest rally in nearly three decades.
Barry Rosenstein-led Jana Partners bought 50,000 shares,
worth about $5.9 million, in SPDR Gold Trust GLD (NYSE:GLD).P , the
world's biggest gold exchanged-traded fund (ETF), the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission filing said.
The fund dissolved its stake in the gold ETF at the end of
December 2014 and exited their gold equity shareholdings in the
second quarter last year.
The news comes as CI Investments Inc CIXCI.UL , an
investment manager of Toronto-based CI Financial Corp CIX.TO ,
almost quadrupled their stake in the ETF, becoming the
sixth-largest shareholder, a May 6 filing showed.
The fund bought 2.81 million shares, taking its stake to
3.75 million shares worth $441 million. It also bought 1.5
million shares in Barrick Gold ABX.TO , 2.9 million shares in
GoldCorp Inc G.TO and 575,000 shares in Market Vectors Gold
Miners ETF.
The buying by some of the largest gold investors highlights
how funds rushed back into bullion ETFs, which are backed by
physical gold, as expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve
would continue to raise interest rates faded.
Volatile equity markets and negative rates in some countries
have also boosted demand for a store of wealth.
In the first quarter, spot prices XAU= rallied 16 percent
for their best quarterly performance in nearly three decades and
hit their highest level in a year.
Institutional and retail buying has propelled prices to
fresh one-year highs of $1,303 an ounce this month.