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Highlights of the New Offering
- London Stock Exchange - ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) will list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 16 December 2009
- Gold stored in Switzerland: ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) will custody all of its physical gold bullion in vaults in Zurich, Switzerland offering diversification benefits across issuer, custodian and geographies
- Physically-backed: ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) is backed by allocated physical gold bullion that meets London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) "good delivery" standards. This is the only Swiss vaulted exchange-traded product that follows this global standard
- Liquid: ETFS Physical Swiss Gold is the latest Gold offering from ETF Securities which has over $11bn of AUM in physically backed allocated bullion products globally as of December 2009
- Transparent: Gold bars underlying: ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) will undergo a bi-annual inspection performed by an independent external auditor and all gold bar identification numbers will be published on www.etfsecurities.com
- World Gold Council (WGC) - ETFS Physical Swiss Gold is part of the WGC Exchange Traded Gold global stable of Gold ETFs
ETF Securities Ltd (ETFS), one of the world's leading providers of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), is independently owned and has approximately USD $17 billion in assets under management in over 170 products globally as of December 2009. In 2003, Graham Tuckwell, Chairman of ETFS, developed the world's first Gold ETF in Australia and the UK. ETFS launched the world's first Crude Oil ETF in 2005 and then developed a comprehensive product range of Commodity ETFs which were listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.
The ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS)
The objective of ETFS Physical Swiss Gold is to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. The ETC is open ended and is designed for investors to gain exposure into physical gold in a cost-effective and convenient way as well as diversify their gold holdings across issuer, custodian and geographies.
ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) is backed by physical gold bullion held in fortified vaults in Zurich, Switzerland. Shares can only be issued when bullion is delivered into the Trust account at the Custodian's vault, which is independently inspected twice a year by Inspectorate International. An appointed Trustee must approve all deposits and withdrawals of Bullion held by the Custodian.
ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) has no counterparty or credit risk as it is 100% backed by LBMA 'good delivery' bars, which differentiates it from other product offerings that achieve bullion exposure through the use of derivatives and 'unstamped gold'. Gold that is not stamped with the required identifiers is not acceptable by the LBMA as 'good delivery' as it would not meet the LBMA's criteria for assaying standards and bar quality that must be satisfied. Investors want to be confident that their exchange-traded product will return the spot price of gold (less fees) and the LBMA issues a daily fixing price that is used as a global reference for gold.
Commenting on the launch, Hector McNeil, Global Head of Sales & Marketing, commented:"The launch of ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (SGBS) highlights ETF Securities' continued thought leadership in Gold ETFs globally. We are very proud to introduce the first ETC backed by physical LBMA gold held in Switzerland to the European market. Investors have been asking us for a long time to develop a product that stores its gold in Switzerland in addition to our current gold ETC which stores its gold in London (PHAU). As a result of that feedback, we are excited to be able to offer investors a new way to invest in the Gold market and an efficient way to geographically diversify their gold holdings."
"This product greatly enhances the Gold ETF range that is currently available to investors by bringing the first Swiss vaulted product backed only by LBMA 'good delivery' bars. Feedback has shown that our investors are uncomfortable with bullion that is not of this standard and are reluctant to take on the extra risks inherent in 'unstamped bullion'. LBMA 'good delivery' status is the global standard, and we believe investors would expect their exchange traded products to meet this standard".
