ETF Securities Ltd, says it is set to ‘shatter Italian investment records ‘with the simultaneous launch of 31 separate ETCs on the Borsa Italiana, comprising 21 individual securities and 1
ETF Securities Ltd, says it is set to ‘shatter Italian investment records ‘with the simultaneous launch of 31 separate ETCs on the Borsa Italiana, comprising 21 individual securities and 10 index securities.
Due to investor demand for ETCs, Borsa Italiana has recently created a new segment for ETCs on the ETFplus market, enabling ETF Securities Ltd to list its entire ETC platform within the next few weeks. The listing of ETCs in Italy will enable investors to effectively trade commodities through ordinary brokerage accounts. Investors will be able to add any combination of individual commodities and/or baskets of commodities to their equity, bond and alternative asset portfolios.
Investors will be able to gain access to all of the key commodity groups; energy, agriculture, livestock, precious metals, industrial metals. This can be done without having to engage in the trading or management of future contracts. 29 of the ETCs are simply priced off DJ-AIG Commodity Indices, with the other 2 ETCs priced directly off oil futures.
The 21 separate classes of commodity securities listed are: ETFS Aluminium; ETFS Brent Oil; ETFS Coffee; ETFS Copper; ETFS Corn; ETFS Cotton; ETFS Crude Oil; ETFS Gasoline; ETFS Gold; ETFS Heating Oil; ETFS Lean Hogs; ETFS Live Cattle; ETFS Natural Gas; ETFS Nickel; ETFS Silver; ETFS Soybean Oil; ETFS Soybeans; ETFS Sugar; ETFS Wheat; ETFS WTI Oil; ETFS Zinc.
The 10 baskets of commodities indices are: ETFS All Commodities DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Agriculture DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Energy DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Ex-Energy DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Grains DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Industrial Metals DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Livestock DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Petroleum DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Precious Metals DJ-AIGCI; ETFS Softs DJ-AIGCI.
The intention to list follows the recent launches of ETCs by ETF Securities on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Bourse, Euronext Amsterdam, and Euronext Paris. Since September 2006, assets under management on these 31 ETCs have increased by approximately 200% to over USD500 million.
ETCs are open-ended securities which can be bought and sold intraday by investors on a regulated exchange in the same way as any equity. They provide accurate and transparent commodity exposure to recognised benchmarks in a single trade. Investors can buy and sell the new ETCs through regulated brokers. ETCs can be traded with all the same order types available to equities, including market, limit and stop orders.
The ETCs will be priced and settled in Euros. Like an Exchange Traded Fund, they can be created and redeemed on a continuous basis by the Authorised Participants, who ensure minimum applications up to a total of USD600 million daily across the 31 ETCs. It is expected that at least two market makers will provide prices on the exchange, ensuring efficient and transparent pricing and market liquidity.
Announcing the listings Nik Bienkowski, Head of Listings at ETF Securities Limited, said: ‘We are delighted to offer this pioneering investment to investors and traders on Borsa Italiana. Following the recent successful launches of our ETC range in Europe and the creation by Borsa Italiana of a new ETC segment on the ETFplusmarket, we saw listing on Borsa Italiana as the next logical step.
‘Since launching the first ETC more than 4 years ago, we have seen huge demand for new products. ETC’s have lowered many of the barriers that previously prevented many investors from investing in the commodities market, including access, trading and operational risks, custody and transaction costs. Globally, more than USD100 billion has been invested in commodity indices and over USD20 billion in ETCs.
‘With the launch of a record-breaking 31 ETCs, we are enabling investors to tap into the ever-increasing appetite for commodities and to trade easily and cheaply on a single platform. Regular investors wanting to invest in the commodities market have previously had limited choice when trying to gain commodity exposure without exposing themselves to corporate and operational risks. With the advent of ETCs, this is the first time such a wide range of commodities has been available on the one exchange and in the same time zone.’
