Tabula Investment Management has introduced the first sustainable physical gold ETC in Europe to offer full traceability of gold bars from mine to vault.
BARS is the first ethical gold ETC to offer full traceability across the supply chain.
The SMO Physical Gold ETC (BARS LN) has been listed on London Stock Exchange in US dollars with an expense ratio of 0.29%.
BARS exclusively sources gold from a select group of mines that comply with stringent ESG standards and are committed to delivering essential social, environmental, and cultural benefits to their local communities.
The verification of these mines is carried out by Single Mine Origin (SMO), an independent entity that performs thorough due diligence on the participating mining companies, their mines, and the refiners.
According to SMO, its auditing process ensures that no gold is of Russian origin, no gold is “recycled” gold of unknown provenance, and no mercury is used in the extraction of its gold. The result is a transparent and trusted standard for responsibly sourced gold.
BARS is designed to provide the same level of liquidity, efficiency, and security as existing physical gold ETCs. It is 100% backed by physical gold bars which are stored in HSBC’s London vaults.
Michael John Lytle, CEO of Tabula Investment Management, commented: “Gold production is highly fragmented with multiple countries, companies, and mines producing the precious metal. With only 4% of gold being traceable there are serious ESG risks in the gold supply chain from potential human rights abuses, environmental degradation, possible financing of conflict and terrorism, money laundering, and sanctions evasion. Some of the world’s largest major gold producers fail basic ESG screens, and existing standards in the gold industry are not sufficient.”
Charlie Betts, Co-Founder of SMO, added: “The only way to properly assess the social and environmental impacts of gold is to have full traceability across the supply chain. Proper accountability is not possible without this degree of transparency. The launch of the SMO Physical Gold ETC addresses the shortcomings of many existing gold investment options, by only sourcing gold from mines adhering to international best practices and openly sharing their ESG data.”