Smart beta investment manager Ossiam, an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), has marked the first anniversary of the Ossiam Risk-Weighted Enhanced Commodity ex Grains TR UCITS ETF 1C (USD).
The ETF was admitted to listing on the London Stock Exchange in September 2014 and has delivered returns of +6.45 per cent over the last 12 months compared with the S&P GSCI TR1 index which has returned -7.76 per cent as of end of September 2014.
The ETF tracks the Risk-Weighted Enhanced Commodity Ex-Grains Index TR, calculated and published intraday by S&P. It was the first risk-weighted smart beta commodity ETF launched globally.
The ETF is intended for investors seeking systematic long-only exposure to a diversified basket of 20 commodities futures contracts (excluding grains) with reduced volatility. When compared with standard ETFs tracking long-only broad commodity indices, the underlying index offers potentially better participation from all commodity sectors while avoiding concentration on oil. This enables more efficient risk allocation in a portfolio.
Bruno Poulin, CEO of Ossiam, says: “We launched this ETF at a time when some may have questioned the relevance of a commodity ETF to investors in such testing times for financial markets. The performance of the ETF over the past twelve months, with better participation from all commodity sectors and more efficient risk allocation in a global portfolio, has borne out our approach to its development and management. We expect it to have long term appeal to investors seeking a risk-managed commodity allocation.”
