Barclays Capital launches
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, this week announced the launch of the first European iPath Exchange Traded Notes (iPath ETNs) . The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term FuturesTM ETN and the iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term FuturesTM ETN provide investors with exposure to volatility and are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (XETRA). The ETNs can be accessed by investors in the UK, Germany and Italy.
iPath ETNs were first launched by Barclays Capital in the US in 2006 and were designed to provide investors with convenient access to the returns of market benchmark indices, less an investor fee. The ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities linked to the performance of an underlying index. The first two iPath ETNs in Europe are linked to the S&P 500 VIX Futures Indices. "We are very excited to bring the iPath ETN platform to investors in Europe. iPath ETNs have been tremendously successful in the US attracting over $5BN* in market capitalisation, with over $80BN in volume traded since inception," said Philippe El-Asmar, Head of Investor Solutions at Barclays Capital. "iPath ETNs provide investors with simple, transparent, cost efficient instruments that provide access to difficult-to-reach markets with the ease of trading through an exchange." "We are happy to be able to offer investors another product innovation in cooperation with Barclays Capital," said Rainer Riess, Managing Director of Xetra Market Development at Deutsche Borse. "The new iPath ETNs enable investors to make cost-efficient investments in a new asset class as well as further diversify their portfolios." Uwe Becker, Head of Investor Solutions Europe at Barclays Capital added: "The iPath VIX ETNs demonstrate Barclays Capital's commitment to providing innovative investment products. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Futures ETNs can allow investors to manage risk and hedge equity exposure. They have removed the need for investors to trade volatility through variance swaps or futures".