Linklaters has advised BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited as arranger and adviser on the establishment of a Programme under which iShares Physical Metals plc as Issuer may from time to time issue ETC Securities backed by Gold, Silver, Platinum or Palladium in physical form. Four series of ETC Securities – Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium – have been issued.
The ETC Securities are generally issued only to Authorised Participants against transfer of Metal to the Issuer. Authorised Participants may also from time to time request the Issuer to buy back Securities in return for Metal. Authorised Participants will sell the Securities in the secondary market either to investors who have directly approached the Authorised Participant or to investors on an exchange on which the Securities are listed for a purchase price agreed between the Authorised Participant and such investor(s). Investors may sell the Securities from time to time in the secondary market to third parties or to Authorised Participants.
The ETC Securities are designed to be issued to institutional and retail investors (where the base prospectus has been passported), and are listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange.
Precious metal prices have recently hit new record highs as investors seek investment diversification and safe havens against inflation and rising prices through investment in precious metals. ETCs generally are an appealing form of investment in that they are structured such that investors can gain exposure to the performance of precious metals without having to physically hold them, thereby mitigating the operational hurdles and costs associated with more traditional ways of investing in precious metals. They are also designed to be transparent and liquid investments.
The Linklaters team was led by capital markets partner Vinay Samani and counsel Joan Ma, in London. Linklaters has a market-leading practice in ETCs, following similar ETC Platforms that Linklaters have established including the Source ETC Platform, the Barclays iPath ETC Platform and the Deutsche Bank ETC platform.
