Exchange Traded Commodities

Exchange Traded Commodities are like ETFs, but ETCs give the investor exposure to precious metals such as gold and silver or a combination of precious metals. Instead of buying actual gold for example, you buy an ETC that tracks gold.

Since the underlying asset is precious metals, distributions are not paid for ETCs. Returns come in the form of capital growth. This is how it works: You get a metal entitlement and a metal share when you buy an ETC. The share is merely an instrument for trading; it's the entitlement that gives value to your ETC.

• ETC exposes investors to commodities without having to buy the commodities directly. Examples of ETCs traded on the ASX are over gold and silver.
• The ETC tracks the spot price of the underlying metal.
• ETC price depends on the price of the underlying metal and the AUD-USD exchange rate.
• ETC trading hours are the same as ASX regular trading hours.
• Metal ETCs is composed of a metal share and a metal entitlement. The value of the ETC lies in the entitlement.