Reik has dedicated the past 13 years to precious-metal investing and, since 2009, has served as managing member of Bristol Investment Partners - a registered investment advisor focused on the sector.

At Sprott, his responsibilities will include developing and managing institutional precious metal-focused investment vehicles, primarily in the US. 

Demand for gold surged 6 per cent from 930 tons in the final quarter of 2013 to 987.5 tons for the same period in 2014, according to the most recent instalment of the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends report. Annual consumer demand, however, dipped 4 per cent year-to-date to 3,923.7 tons in 2014, the report said. The price for consumers remained relatively stable year-on-year for the fourth quarter – at least for consumers trading in dollars, who experienced a marginal change from $38,156 in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $38,142 in the same three months last year.

Sprott operates through five business units: Sprott Asset Management, Sprott Private Wealth, Sprott Consulting, Sprott Resource Lending and Sprott US Holdings.

Sprott Asset Management is the investment manager of the Sprott family of mutual funds and hedge funds and discretionary managed accounts; Sprott Private Wealth provides wealth management services to high net worth individuals.