The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC (RMAU) has over $600m in assets under management (AUM).2 On 31st December 2021, RMAU’s AUM stood at $278 million.3 On 29th April 2022, its AUM surpassed $600 million, representing year-to-date growth of 117.6%.4 This marked the highest AUM the ETC has seen since its launch in 2020.
RMAU was the first financial listed product to be sponsored by The Royal Mint and the first gold ETC to be launched in partnership with a European sovereign mint.5
The ETC provides investors with exposure to the spot price of gold by physically holding gold bars. The gold bars are 100% in compliance with the LBMA’s 2019 Responsible Sourcing guidelines, the highest responsible sourcing standard within the industry. 6 RMAU’s gold is custodied at the Royal Mint’s highly secure vault in Llantrisant, Cardiff.
Furthermore, RMAU also makes use of recycled gold. Partnering with The Royal Mint allows the ETC to have a greater degree of control over its supply chain, implemented by its in-house Supply Chain Management team, thus ensuring that a portion of RMAU’s gold held in custody is 100% recycled.7
The UN reported that 53.6 million tons of electronic waste was generated in 2019, a record number, of which only a sixth was recycled.8 A recent article on the BBC News, titled “Mine e-waste, not the
Earth, say scientists, argues that e-waste recycling must urgently be ramped up because mining precious metals to make new gadgets is unsustainable. According to Gill, the current paucity of raw materials driven by supply chain issues has led to an increased interest in “mining e-waste” instead, by extracting materials from discarded electronics to be reused.9 Given that gold has become an increasingly essential material in technological devices, a shift towards more use of recycled gold is vital. HANetf believes that RMAU’s use of recycled gold should be seen as part of a wider shift to the circular economy.
RMAU is currently listed on London Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Börse.
Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-Founder of HANetf comments:
“We launched The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC (RMAU) just two years ago. We are thrilled to see it exceed 600 million dollars in AUM in such a short period of time. Gold will always be an asset of interest to investors seeking a diversified portfolio.
“With the world such a turbulent place, be it the pandemic, inflation, or the outbreak of war in Europe, this precious metal is likely to have even more appeal for those looking for some sort of insurance.
“RMAU is a unique way to gain gold exposure; not only are its gold bars 100% in compliance with the LBMA’s 2019 Responsible Sourcing guidelines, but the physical gold bars are held in the Royal Mint’s vaults, which is one of the most secure sites in the world in rural Wales, as opposed to London or New York where most other gold custody vaults are based. RMAU also resonates with investors due to the unique feature of being able to redeem the ETCs for Royal Mint bars and coins to demand.”
