After underperforming physical gold in 2011, gold mining companies such as Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. might be in a position to start outperforming bullion, according to an article on Bloomberg News.

Gold-backed ETFs may have contributed to the underperformance of gold mining companies, the article said, citing physical bullion ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD).

Such ETFs give investors the ability to hold physical metal without being exposed to the operational risks of gold companies, the Bloomberg report said.

For more information, visit Bloomberg.com.