Getting Physical With Copper, Industrial Metal ETFs

Michael Johnston submits: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.

ETF Database submits: 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 the losses, the downward has now resumed.

Michael Johnston submits: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 billion under management.

By Hard Assets Investor: By Amine Bouchentouf After a long, arduous path to SEC approval, JPMorgan (JPM) is set to launch first-ever copper ETN backed by the red metal itself. Investors will soon have the option of investing directly in physical copper through the convenience of an exchange-traded fund, just as you can with gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

Tom Lydon submits: ETF Spotlight on ETFS Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares (NYSEArca: GLTR), part of a weekly series. Assets: $213.0 million

By MetalMiner: By Taras Berezowsky

Ron Rowland submits:ETF Securities launched the ETFS Physical White Metal Basket Shares (WITE) last Friday (12/03/2010). It is the first US-based physically backed white precious metal exchange-traded product (ETP) holding a basket of silver, platinum, and palladium in fixed weights.

Michael Johnston submits: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 eager to access.