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Physically Backed Commodity ETPs

Lesson 3 of 6
Duration 3:02
Level Beginner
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This lesson provides insights into the structure of physically backed commodity ETPs, such as those underpinned by gold and silver, and how they work.

Contributed By: WisdomTree Europe

Study Notes:

Physically Backed Commodity ETPs

Let’s take a look at the structure of physically backed commodity exchange traded products (ETPs) and see how they work.

All ETPs allow investors to gain exposure to an underlying asset or benchmark. To do this, ETPs need to be underpinned by the assets they’re designed to track.

There are two ways to do this:

  • Physically or
  • Synthetically.

Physical Replication

An ETP issuer uses the money received from the creation of the ETP to buy the underlying target assets, but for most commodities, physical replication is unfeasible. Storage can be very expensive, infrastructure requirements may be considerable, and in the case of agricultural produce, the underlying asset is perishable.

So, for commodity ETPs, physical replication is only viable for a few mainly precious metals where storage is operationally simple and relatively cheap.

These physically backed commodity ETPs give investors exposure to precious metals without them having to take actual delivery of the underlying.

The metal is stored in a vault by a custodian bank specializing in the safeguarding of assets on behalf of clients. However, some physically backed precious metal ETPs allow investors to receive delivery of the underlying metal, if desired.

Storage and metal quality are subject to the standards of international trade associations such as

  • the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA),
  • the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM), and
  • the London Metal Exchange (LME).

The value of a physically backed ETP is based on its entitlement to a corresponding amount of the underlying metal.

For example:
An entitlement of 0.1 means there is one tenth of an ounce of metal held for each ETP security.

Investors also benefit from a secure investment structure, with the underlying metal owned by an independent trustee who holds it on behalf of investors. So, if an ETP issuer defaults, investors still retain ownership of the metal. The trustee would then sell the metal and distribute the proceeds to investors.

To sum up, physically backed commodity ETPs give investors the benefit of exposure to commodity price movements, and investors can rest assured that each ETP is backed by an entitlement to high quality, securely stored, physical metal.

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Disclosure: WisdomTree Europe

This material is prepared by WisdomTree and its affiliates and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date of production and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by WisdomTree, nor any affiliate, nor any of their officers, employees or agents. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

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