Deals & People October 21, 2010

Sauber Named as Advantus Client Strategies Chief

Advantus Capital Management, an institutional fixed income and real estate securities asset manager, created the Client Strategies Group in its insurance asset management practice.
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A news release said Linda Sauber will lead the group as director, Client Portfolio Management Services. Sauber has been active in the asset management industry since 1984 when she joined Advantus as a securities clerk, according to the announcement.

She earned her MBA in 2002 and subsequently held positions as a fixed income trader and portfolio manager. Sauber rejoined Advantus in 2009 and has been active in portfolio management and client service roles. She has a bachelor’s degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn., and a master’s from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.

Advantus, which currently manages $15 billion in insurance assets,  is an affiliate of Securian Financial Group.

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Products October 21, 2010

Firm Unveils Precious Metals ETF

ETF Securities announced that ETFS Precious Metals Basket shares will be listed on the NYSE Arca on October 22, 2010, trading under the ticker symbol GLTR.
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A news release said the company is the first US ETF sponsor to provide investors with access to a suite of precious metal ETPs. Investors can now trade physically-backed gold, silver, platinum, palladium & precious metals basket ETPs from the same provider.

The objective of the ETFS Precious Metals Basket Trust (GLTR) reflects the performance of the price of gold, silver, platinum and palladium, minus the trust’s expenses, the company said. The trust is open-ended and is designed for investors who want a cost-effective way to invest in all four precious metals as well as diversify their precious metal holdings. The product has an annual gross expense ratio of 0.60%.

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The shares represent beneficial interest in the trust, which holds physically allocated gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion held in vaults by the Custodian (JP Morgan Chase Bank).  All physical bullion held with JP Morgan Chase Bank conforms to the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) and London Platinum and Palladium Market Association’s (LPPM) rules for Good Delivery. Gold and silver will be held in London and platinum and palladium will be held in London or Zurich.

According to the announcement, the five precious metal ETPs have the following key features:

  • Track spot price of underlying metal less associated management fees,
  • Bullion holdings audited by specialist audit firm biannually – audit reports published on the Web site www.etfsecurities.com, and 
  • Bullion bar list published on Web site.

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