In finance, the iPath refer to a family of
exchange-traded note An exchange-traded product (ETP) is a regularly priced security which trades during the day on a national stock exchange. ETPs may embed derivatives but it is not a requirement that they do so - and the investment memorandum (or offering documents ...
s (ETN) issued by
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
.
[''The ETF Handbook'' by David J. Abner 2010 page 38] iPath ETNs are senior, unsecured debt securities of Barclays Bank PLC, covering the following asset classes: Commodities, Equity smart beta, MLPs, Sustainable investing, and Volatility.
The iPath combine the investment aspects of
bonds and
exchange-traded fund
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund and exchange-traded product, i.e. they are traded on stock exchanges. ETFs are similar in many ways to mutual funds, except that ETFs are bought and sold from other owners throughout the ...
s (ETF). The first iPath securities were issued in 2006 and are registered under the
Securities Act of 1933
The Securities Act of 1933, also known as the 1933 Act, the Securities Act, the Truth in Securities Act, the Federal Securities Act, and the '33 Act, was enacted by the United States Congress on May 27, 1933, during the Great Depression and after ...
, because they are issued by banks, not by investment companies.
[''The ETF Book'' by Richard A. Ferri, Don Phillips 2009 pp 52-53]
The iPath trade close to their intra-day trading value and usually have a 30-year maturity. However, they may be redeemed (with a minimum of 50,0000 units) every Thursday- unlike the daily redemption feature of ETFs. They may also be traded on the
secondary market
The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of the s ...
.
Although an iPath
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
may be linked to an underlying
market index
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
its value may change even if there is little or no movement in the index, in the event that the
credit rating
A credit rating is an evaluation of the credit risk of a prospective debtor (an individual, a business, company or a government), predicting their ability to pay back the debt, and an implicit forecast of the likelihood of the debtor defaulting.
...
of the issuer changes, e.g. if the issuer receives a rating downgrade.
See also
*
SPDR
SPDR funds (pronounced "spider") are a family of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) traded in the United States, Europe, Mexico and Asia-Pacific and managed by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA). Informally, they are also known as Spyders or Spiders. S ...
*
PowerShares
Invesco PowerShares (formerly PowerShares Capital Management) is an American boutique investment management firm based near Chicago which manages a family of exchange-traded funds or ETFs. The company has been part of Invesco, which markets the P ...
*
Structured product
A structured product, also known as a market-linked investment, is a pre-packaged structured finance investment strategy based on a single Security (finance), security, a basket of securities, Option (finance), options, Index (economics), indices, ...
*
iShares
iShares is a collection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by BlackRock, which acquired the brand and business from Barclays in 2009. The first iShares ETFs were known as World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) but have since been rebranded ...
Sources
External links
iPath
Exchange-traded products
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