iShares Launches Precious Metal ETCs

iShares has launched a new range of precious metal exchange traded commodities (ETCs) on the London Stock Exchange.

The world's largest provider of exchange-traded products unveiled its iShares Physical Gold ETC, Physical Silver ETC, Physical Platinum ETC and the Physical Palladium ETC.

Physical ETCs offer investors exposure to the commodity price without actually having to own the metals.

All four ETCs are debt securities linked to the respective precious metals, with the metals held in segregated accounts in secure vaults.

They will track the day-to-day price of the underlying physical metals, as published by the London Platinum and Palladium Market for platinum and palladium, and by the London Bullion Market Association for gold and silver.

Joe Linhares, head of iShares EMEA, commented: "The launch marks a natural extension of our product set, providing investors with the building blocks to help implement their investment views."

He explained that investors are showing "significant interest" in commodity related exchange traded products.

"iShares physically backed ETC range has been designed to provide exposure to precious metals in a way that meets our core values of transparency, liquidity, trading flexibility and investor protection," he added.