Single Mine Origin ETC Growing Rapidly as Investors Demand Responsibly Sourced Gold

In just six months, the SMO Physical Gold ETC has hit over USD 1 bn in assets under management , proving that investor demand for responsibly-sourced gold is real. This ETC differs from almost every other gold product because gold is sourced directly from a small number of mines, carefully selected by Single Mine Origin Ltd (SMO). Each mine undergoes strict due diligence and the gold is monitored and segregated throughout its supply chain, from the mine through the refining process to the ETC custodian.

“Problems in the gold market aren’t just hearsay”, says Charlie Betts, Managing Director of SMO, an independent company set up to provide a trusted standard for responsibly sourced gold. “There is concrete evidence of serious issues in the gold supply chain and traceability is the only solution,” adds Betts. “Anyone who buys or invests in gold should ensure that the gold is fully traceable to a responsible mining operation with high ESG standards.” Outside the jewellery industry, where SMO gold has a growing following, SMO works exclusively with the Manager of the SMO Physical Gold ETC to assess mines and monitor the supply chain.

The ETC is marketed by Tabula Investment Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Janus Henderson. According to Michael John Lytle, CEO of Tabula, these first six months have been a successful proof of concept: “The level of transparency that SMO provides is impressive. As new investors come into the ETC, gold is sourced from an SMO-approved mine, refined and delivered to HSBC’s vaults accompanied by a detailed chain of custody. We already knew that SMO’s jewellery customers cared deeply about where their gold came from. Now we know that some investors feel the same. However, with over USD 100 billion allocated to gold ETCs in Europe, there is still a long way to go.”.

The SMO Physical Gold ETC is designed to provide precise exposure to the price of gold, after fees. It is secured by gold held in allocated accounts with leading global custodian HSBC. The ETC trades on the London Stock Exchange in USD and GBP and has a TER of 0.29% per annum.

About the ETC