Source offers optimised exposure to brent crude

Source is pleased to announce the launch of the Source Brent Crude Enhanced T-ETC (Ticker: BOIL), pursuant to its Treasury bill secured ETC programme. This exchange traded certificate offers optimised exposure to Brent crude oil via the S&P GSCITM Brent Crude Enhanced Total Return Index. It complements Source’s existing Crude Oil Enhanced T-ETC (Ticker: SEWTI), which provides optimised exposure to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.

Historically, WTI light sweet crude was the major global benchmark for the oil market. However, Brent crude is increasingly recognised as a distinct and important benchmark, particularly since 2011, when it consistently traded at a premium to WTI. “Political situations, oil inventories and infrastructure issues on the two sides of the Atlantic can be starkly different,” commented Source CEO Ted Hood. “Investors increasingly want exposure to a specific oil contract – Brent or WTI – rather than generic crude oil exposure.”

Both BOIL and SEWTI offer optimised exposure via indices from the S&P GSCI Enhanced Index series, which use dynamic rolling rules to mitigate the potential effects of contango1 and thereby improve the ability to track spot price performance. Conventional commodity indices, which take exposure via near-term futures contracts, can significantly lag spot prices in times of contango. The S&P GSCI Enhanced Indices aim to minimise this lag: when the market is in contango, the indices switch into longer-term futures contracts, where the effect of contango is typically less pronounced.

The Source Brent Crude Enhanced T-ETC is secured with US Treasury Bills and cash. It is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and trades in US dollars. The Source Brent Crude Enhanced T-ETC is registered for sale in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy (for institutional investors only), Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.