The American Stock Exchange has begun trading in the options of the Market Vectors-Agribusiness ETF, managed by Van Eck Associates.
The American Stock Exchange has begun trading in the options of the Market Vectors-Agribusiness ETF, managed by Van Eck Associates. The options will trade on the February expiration cycle with initial expiration months of October, November, February and May.
Shares in the exchange-traded fund have been trading on the Amex since September. The fund seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index, a basket of the securities of 37 agribusinesses listed on global exchanges.
The index, launched in July this year, includes prominent companies such as Potash, Deere, Komatsu and Monsanto, which represented 7.9 per cent, 7.8 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively of the index at the end of September. It also includes companies that provide or transport agricultural equipment, livestock operations, and firms providing or transporting ethanol or biodiesel.
Founded in 1955, Van Eck Associates offers global investments in hard assets, emerging markets, precious metals including gold and other specialised asset classes. Van Eck Global’s mutual funds seek to provide returns with low correlation to more traditional US equity and fixed income investments. The firm also offers ETFs, separately managed accounts and alternative investments.
The American Stock Exchange, which brought the first US domestic ETF to market in 1993, currently lists 342 exchange-traded funds as well as structured products and holding company depository receipts (HOLDRs).
