Thursday, August 2, 2007

UBS to launch new product for commodities

UBS will announce on Tuesday the launch of a commodities investment product that differs from the long-only, passive indices dominating the industry, providing non-specialist investors with sophisticated trading strategies that benefit from both rising and falling commodity prices.

The UBS Commodities Portfolio Algorithmic Strategy System aims to fill a gap in the market between the long-only passive indices, such as the popular S&P GSCI – which has about $70bn tracking it – and services provided by commodities trading advisers and hedge funds.

...Traditional commodities vehicles bet only on higher prices and usually roll over their positions every month, selling the front-month contract and buying the following contract.

The strategy results in losses when prices fall from one month to the next or during a bear market.

From the Financial Times