The iShares Silver Trust is a grantor trust that provides an investment vehicle for clients to own interests in silver. The Trust’s purpose is to own silver transferred to it in exchange for iShares (shares issued by the Trust.) The Trust’s assets mainly consist of silver held by the custodian on the Trust’s behalf. The goal of the Trust is for the market value of iShares to reflect, at any point of time, the value of silver owned by the Trust at that point of time. iShares ETF is the world’s biggest manager of ETFs, and is part of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK).
Launch of New Dividend Equity ETFs
iShares Silver Trust has recently launched two new dividend-focused equity funds aimed at accessing the rapidly growing emerging markets as well as developed markets in Asia-Pacific region. The funds are listed on the NYSE Arca, and are called the iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend 30 Index Fund and the iShares Emerging Market Dividend Index Fund (DVYE). With the launch of these two funds, iShares has expanded its existing suite of dividend ETFs with the aim of providing a global tool kit of equity income solutions.
Darek Wojnar, Head of iShares Product Development and Management at BlackRock, says: “In today’s market environment, traditional sources of income are offering historically low yields. Emerging markets and the developed markets in the Asia/Pacific region are expected to lead global economic growth and offer attractive opportunity for investment income in the near term. Income-seeking investors can use our dividend–paying funds to efficiently take advantage of potential economic growth in these regions, and possibly reduce portfolio volatility compared with growth-oriented stocks.”
Wojnar continues: “The new iShares funds are well positioned to marry international growth potential with the value characteristics of dividend solutions in an ETF. The funds also offer investors the added benefit of a liquid investment approach, representing flexibility in establishing and adjusting allocations. A basket of high dividend-paying equities can often provide investors a cost-effective, transparent way to diversify their global equity income stream.”
Fixed Income Funds Launched
iShares Silver Trust has recently launched seven new fixed income funds in response to an increasing demand from investors for targeted exposures of fixed income in an ETF. The new funds represent several firsts. These are the first fixed income ETFS from iShares that provide investment exposure to particular industry sectors, high credit quality corporate bonds, and specific sectors within the marketplace of mortgage-backed securities.
Matt Tucker, Head of iShares Fixed Income Investment Strategy at BlackRock, says: “We are launching these new iShares ETFs specifically in response to growing demand for liquid and transparent fixed income investments that are easy to buy and trade. Investors have shown a clear interest in ETFs as they readjust their fixed income portfolios.”
Global Commodity Producer Equity ETFs
iShares Silver Trust has also successfully launched five funds with a special focus on global commodity producers. The funds allow the investors to gain access to companies engaged in the production of commodities without exposure to storage or other costs related with the product of the commodity ownership. Darek Wojnar says: “Commodities are a key allocation in many portfolios, often used as portfolio diversifiers or a hedge against inflation. Commodity producer ETFs are a unique way for investors to access equity-based exposure to this asset class, wrapped with the diversification benefits of an ETF.”
Wojnar continues: “Through these new funds, investors can implement an equity-based solution for achieving highly targeted exposure to appealing commodity sectors, complementing or even replacing physically-backed or futures-based commodities approaches. These funds offer an excellent example of the flexibility and efficiency of the ETF vehicle in helping investors implement tactical asset allocation strategies focused on taking advantage of the global markets’ most attractive emerging opportunities.”
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