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ETF Securities increases resources in their legal and
product development teams
13/02/08
- Two new hires added to meet burgeoning demand for ETCs
- Record asset growth last week of $397m
ETF Securities Ltd (ETFS), the global pioneers in Exchange Traded Commodities
(ETCs), have expanded their legal function and product development capabilities
with the key appointments of Charles Carvell as Senior Lawyer, developing the ETC
platform and Benoit Autier as a Manager in the Product Development team. These
appointments are a direct response to the growth in investor demand for ETCs.
Charles was previously a Vice President in the legal department at Nomura
International where he worked on the creation of structured funds, fund linked
derivatives and other equity derivative products. Prior to that he spent over 6 years
at Dechert LLP where he advised on the establishment of hedge funds, UCITS funds
and a variety of other fund and investment products. Charles qualified as a solicitor
in 2001 and studied law at Durham University.
Benoit previously worked for Flow Traders, one of the leading ETC market makers in
Europe. Prior to that Benoit worked for KPMG in Paris as a senior consultant and then
as an analyst for Ricol, Lasteyrie a firm specialising in financial valuation. Benoit
holds a Masters in Finance from London Business School and a Bachelors degree in
Accounting and Finance from the University of Paris (Pantheon Assas).
ETF Securities is continuing to expand its sales, research and development teams to
meet the growing demand generated from its listings across Europe. Weekly ETC
trading volumes have also exploded to over $500 million, up over 150% since
December. Of this, precious metal ETC trading has increased from $80 million per
week to $280 million last week, an increase of 250% over the past month. In
addition to market conditions which are supportive for precious metals and
commodities, the increase in trading volumes is also a result of multiple European
listings complemented with the largest number of Authorised Participants and market
makers of any ETC or ETF. Last week, 62% of ETC trading volume was due to
precious metal ETCs.
In addition to its existing range of 55 ETCs, soon investors will have the option to
gain short or leveraged exposure through an offering of 66 Short and Leveraged
ETCs. The new ETCs are expected to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in the
next few weeks and will provide investors access to a wide range of investment and
trading strategies. Short ETCs will enable investors to gain from falls in commodity
prices. Leveraged ETCs will enable investors to gain from rising commodity prices,
providing the same exposure with 50% less capital.
Commenting on the further growth of the team, Graham Tuckwell, Chairman
of ETF Securities, said:
"Following our development and listings of ETCs covering physical, classic, forward,
leveraged and short ETCs, and the resulting significant growth in assets under
management, we are continuing to expand the team. Benoit and Charles’
appointments will help ETF Securities remain the leader and pioneer of ETCs.
“There has been a significant increase in demand for ETCs linked to the price of
commodities and particularly precious metals. Most recently, this demand has been
for platinum and agriculture ETCs as investors seek to diversify their portfolios away
from equities and bonds and into other asset classes.
“Last week we experienced a record week of $397 million of new assets after a
record month in January which added $800 million of new assets in January. Record
prices in wheat and platinum have been helpful but investors are now recognising
the benefits that an entire platform of ETCs can bring to their portfolios."
For further information, please contact:
Roman Townsend
Penrose Financial
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7786 4875
Notes to editors:
The management of ETF Securities Limited pioneered the development of Exchange
Traded Commodities (ETCs), in 2003. Building on its success ETF Securities created
the world’s first entire ETC platform which was listed on the London Stock Exchange
in September 2006. Since then, ETF Securities has listed its ETCs on Europe’s major
exchanges (Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Italy) with each exchange creating a
separate ETC segment. With Classic, Forward, Short and Leveraged ETCs available,
investors can execute most trading and investment strategies previously not
possible.
To learn more about ETF Securities go to: www.etfsecurities.com
This press release does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any
solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any transferable securities to be issued by ETFS
Commodity Securities Limited or any other securities, nor shall it or any part of it nor the fact of its
distribution form part of or be relied on in connection with any contract or investment decision relating
thereto. Any offer, invitation or solicitation shall be made solely by means of the prospectus and recipients
of this advertisement who are considering a purchase of securities following distribution of the prospectus
in connection therewith are reminded that any such purchase should be made solely on the basis of the
information contained in such prospectus and any supplementary prospectus(es). This advertisement does
not constitute any recommendation regarding the securities of ETFS Commodity Securities Limited.
The communication of this press release is not being made by, and this press release has not been
approved by, an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets
Act 2000 (the “FSMA”). Accordingly this press release is not being distributed to, and must not be passed
on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of this press release or any other
document issued in connection with the offer and sale of the ETCs is only being made to and directed at
those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of Investment Professionals (as defined in
Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the
“Order”), or high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be
communicated, falling within Article 49(1) of the Order or any person to whom it may otherwise lawfully
be made (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The communication of this
press release (or any other document issued in connection with the offer and sale of the ETCs) must not
be acted upon or relied upon by persons who are not relevant persons. Persons distributing this press
release must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. All applicable provisions of the FSMA must be
complied with in respect of anything done in relation to the ETCs in, from or otherwise involving the
United Kingdom.
This is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities issued by Commodity Securities
Limited (“ Securities”) have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act or any other
applicable law of the United States. These Securities are being offered and sold only outside the United
States to non-US persons in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S of the
US Securities Act. The Issuer has not been and does not intend to become registered as an investment
company under the Investment Company Act and related rules. TheseSecurities and any beneficial
interest therein may not be reoffered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred in the United States or to
US persons. If the Issuer determines that any Security Holder is a Prohibited US Person (being a US
Person who is not a "qualified purchaser" as defined in the Investment Company Act), the Issuer may
redeem the Securities held by that Security Holder in accordance with the provisions described in the
Prospectus. The Securities may not be purchased with plan assets of any "employee benefit plan" within
the meaning of section 3(3) of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended ("ERISA"), any "plan" described in section 4975(e)(1) of the United States Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") or any entity whose underlying assets include "plan assets" of
any of the foregoing by reason of an employee benefit plan's or other plan's investment in such entity,
which employee benefit plan, plan or entity is subject to Title I of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code or
any United States Federal, state, or local law or non-United States law that is substantially similar to the
prohibited transaction provisions of section 406 of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code (any such employee
benefit plan, plan or entity, a "Prohibited Benefit Plan Investor"). If the Issuer determines that any
Security Holder is a Prohibited Benefit Plan Investor, the Issuer may redeem the Securities held by that
Security Holder in accordance with the provisions described in the Prospectus relating to those Securities."
“Dow Jones,” “AIG®” “Dow Jones-AIG Commodity IndexSM,” “DJ-AIGCISM”, “Dow Jones-AIG Commodity
3-Month Forward Index” are service marks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and American International
Group, Inc. (“American International Group”), as the case may be, and will be licensed for use for certain
purposes by ETF Securities Ltd. ETCs based on the DJ-AIGCISM or related sub-indices (including single
commodity sub-indices) or 3-Month Forward Indexes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by
Dow Jones, AIG Financial Products Corp. (“AIG-FP”), American International Group, or any of their
respective subsidiaries or affiliates, and none of Dow Jones, AIG-FP, American International Group, or any
of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, makes any representation regarding the advisability of
investing in such product(s).
To obtain a copy of the prospectus please visit the website at
www.etfsecurities.com
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