A small boutique in Switzerland claims to have beaten a number of major banks to the punch by launching a new physically-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Basinvest's BI Physical Commodity Fund is an actively managed investment vehicle which has attracted £26 million since being introduced in May 2009.

According to the Financial Times, as of the end of September, it had a 15 per cent exposure to palladium and a ten per cent exposure to platinum.

The two precious metals further expand a portfolio which also contains 8,574 tonnes of copper, lead, aluminium, zinc and nickel in a range of London Metal Exchange warehouses.

Ronald Wildman, Managing Director of Basinvest, explained that the Zurich-based company is "pioneering the concept" of asset managers offering physically-backed metal products.

"We add discretionary palladium and platinum because these precious metals are used in industry too," he told the news provider.

"Our investors do not choose us because of performance but because of the physical availability of the commodities."

Meanwhile, ETF Securities has released a number of filings to alert markets to the imminent release of its new gold, silver, platinum and palladium ETF.

The ETFS Physical PM Basket Shares product is expected to hold 55,000 oz of silver, 200 oz of platinum and 300 oz of palladium for every 1,500 oz of gold.

According to the firm, the launching of the fund could see bullion prices rise, with the "relatively small" platinum and palladium markets likely to benefit significantly.

ETF Securities also has reason to celebrate after seeing the total assets for its Physical Palladium Shares (PALL) product pass the $500 million mark on 8th October.

"PALL reaching $500 million is another strategic milestone for ETF Securities in the US market," commented William Rhind, Strategic Director for ETFS Marketing.

"The interest in both PALL and its sister product, PPLT (Platinum) may indicate investors are looking to diversify their portfolios to hold more precious metals than just gold."

Elsewhere, the Thailand Futures Exchange has revealed that it will release 14 new ETFs, including a platinum product, after receiving approval from the country's finance ministry.

Sources:



Metal product pioneers (17/10/10)



ETF Securities Nearing The Launch Of The “ETFS Physical PM Basket Shares” Physical Gold, Silver, Platinum And Palladium ETF (GLTR, SGOL, SIVR, PPLT, PALL) (19/10/10)



ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (PALL) break $500m in AUM (18/10/10)



Thailand to add futures on 14 new products (20/10/10) 

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