Global fears of another deflationary wave stemming from Dubai and Greece debt issues have sent investors fleeing from gold ETFs. The most popular fund, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), shed 13.72 tons in just one day of trading this week.

The recent dip in gold prices from $1200 to $1120 per ounce suggests that despite global inflationary pressures from world governments and central banks, investors are still fleeing to cash when problems arise. TheStreet reports that while gold prices dipped, the US dollar index tacked on 1% against a basket of currencies as investors sought cash and equivalents, rather than commodities or equities.

While investors may not favor US based fund SPDR Gold Shares, a spokesman for ETFS Gold Trust (SGOL: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), a smaller gold ETF with holdings in Switzerland, indicated that inflows remained strong in the ETF Securities fund, most likely due to where the gold is stored.

No one can argue that gold ETFs have been one of the largest benefactors of the recession. With investors becoming more cautious about their wealth and diversifying into hard assets, Swiss banks are finding it difficult to store all the newly purchased gold.

Exchange-traded funds typically hire a custodian firm to securely store investor’s assets. Many funds opt to store their gold in historically neutral Swiss banks, causing demand to quickly outpace supply in Switzerland. A new fund from ETF Securities is hoping to store its gold in Swiss vaults, but with gold supplies skyrocketing, its launch may be delayed until the issuer finds available holding facilities.

Reuters reports that US based US Gold Shares (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) has seen a slight drawdown in gold while European ETFs are still posting growth, vying for precious storage space in a country quickly running out of room.

ETF Securities, one of the largest ETF issuers in London, will soon open another ETF in the United States. After filing for a platinum-based ETF, the firm has recently amended its SEC filing on a gold fund to include new details for a future ETF.

Just last week, ETF Securities filed with the SEC to authorize gold shares worth $1 billion for its new fund. The fund will be highly private, seeking to store its metals in a Swiss vault managed by JP Morgan Chase. Originally, ETF Securities had filed to use HSBC as its custodian, as it does for its international commodity funds; however, in the recently amended filing, HSBC was substituted for JP Morgan.

The new fund, which will be named ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGOL), will trade on the NYSE Arca exchange, according to the SEC filing. The fund will face stiff competition from SPDR Gold Shares (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), the current gold ETF champion in asset holdings.

Inflow and outflow data for the biggest exchange-traded funds offer investors an insider’s look into where other investors are putting their money. CNBC’s Bob Pisani breaks down where investors are betting their money: China, anti-inflation and financial stocks.

As reported by CNBC, gold is the most popular exchange-traded investment. In the first quarter alone, gold funds accepted $12 billion in additional investor capital, making it the number one investment in 2009. Were the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) to be ranked against the biggest holders of gold in the world, it would rank at number 6, above the country of Switzerland and below Italy, which currently holds about twice as much gold.

Inflation protected Treasuries are also a popular play on Wall Street after receiving little attention for years. The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) drew $2.3 billion to swell to $12 billion under management.

Emerging market funds round out the list of most popular investments after iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) collected $1.5 billion in the first quarter alone.

Investor interest in the metal has skyrocketed, with the second largest US based ETF, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), showing growth in assets of 33% in 2009 alone on modest gains of $50 or 5.2% per ounce. GLD is now the sixth-largest holder of gold in the world after displacing the Swiss National Bank.

The survey of analysts, which has correctly predicted the weekly change in gold 59% of the time, is a key indicator for Bloomberg in gauging future momentum in the metals market. Gold ETFs are among the few to rise in 2009, along with other precious metal funds and safe haven investments.

In a weekly survey of 30 traders around the world, 20 advised buying the precious metal, with six analysts holding a neutral position and only four advising investors to sell.