ETF Securities, the European ETF giant that has now accumulated more than $2 billion in U.S. ETF assets, announced the latest addition to its product line on Friday. The ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares (GLTR) will be the first U.S.-based, physically backed precious metal basket ETP. GLTR (pronounced “glitter”) will hold gold, silver, platinum and palladium in fixed weights: 0.03 ounces of gold, 1.1 ounces of silver, 0.004 ounces of platinum, and 0.006 ounces of palladium. At current market prices, that means that the exposure will be tilted most heavily towards gold and silver,with smaller allocations to the other two precious metals [see Guide To Platinum ETFs]. [click to continue…]
As the U.S. economy continues to struggle and more intervention from the Fed seems inevitable, the dollar has been battered in currency markets. The greenback has already lost close to 8% over the past few months against the world’s other major currencies, and while a Chinese rate hike earlier this week helped to temporarily stem [...]
Perhaps no corner of the ETF market has exploded as rapidly as the precious metals space, as the democratization of an asset class previously off limits to many investors has resulted in billions of dollars in cash inflows. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is now the second-largest ETF by total assets, with more than $53 [...]
As the American economy continues to tread water, many investors have grown increasingly concerned about a double-dip recession. This has pushed dollars into the bond markets which has caused prices to soar as investors attempt to protect themselves from any future economic storms. However, with yields now approaching record lows, investors have started to rethink [...]
The first half of 2010 is in the books, and it is no surprise that the ETF industry has continued to grow at an impressive rate. According to the latest data from the National Stock Exchange, the universe of exchange-traded products saw almost $40 billion of cash inflows during the first six months of the [...]
ETF Securities, the giant in the European ETF scene that made the jump to the U.S. market last year, announced this week that it plans to issue new shares of two of its most popular physically-backed commodity ETFs. Effective May 26, the number of shares registered for the ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (PPLT) increased from [...]
In recent weeks markets have encountered turmoil with prospects for growth around the world being slashed as debt issues in Europe weigh on investors. As investors continue to flee the euro, many are flocking towards the relative safety of the U.S. dollar, further driving up the greenback and dragging down commodity prices. In addition to [...]
As debt concerns continue to plague the euro zone, many investors are beginning to temper their expectations for global growth in 2010. As the wave of uncertainty washes over markets, investors have been flocking to safe havens, sending gold prices to all-time highs. Other precious metals haven’t been quite so fortunate; an increased possibility of [...]
At the height of the recent financial crisis, it appeared that one of the oldest and most iconic American industries would become one of the biggest casualties. The automotive industry was already reeling from a major dip in demand for its most profitable products when gas prices surged, and the dawn of one of the [...]
When ETF Securities finally cleared the last of the regulatory hurdles last year and geared up to introduce the first physically-backed platinum and palladium ETFs, investor interest quickly surged. Although futures-based exposure to platinum had been available for several years, exposure to physical bullion prices represents an entirely different asset class–apparently one that investors were [...]
Historically, precious metals investing for U.S. investors has been limited to gold and, to a lesser extent, silver. But recent innovation in the space has doubled the available resources; earlier this year, London-based ETF Securities launched the ETFS Physical Platinum Trust (PPLT) and ETFS Physical Palladium Trust (PALL), the first physically-backed ETFs offering exposure to [...]
