Free Writing Prospectus
Filed Pursuant to Rule 433
Registration No. 333-145845
July 15, 2008
Investors have shown increasing interest in commodities, which as an asset class can offer opportunities to fine-tune a
portfolios risk and return characteristics. The commodities asset class has experienced strong growth in recent years. Currently, approximately $175 billion* is invested in allocations tracking commodity indexes. The low correlation to
financial assets, equity-type returns and risk characteristics offered by commodities provide investors a means to diversify portfolios. The following will describe the composition of commodity markets and popular benchmark methodologies, the
rationale for inclusion into investment portfolios, and different vehicles available for commodity investment.
*
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Source: Barclays Capital Inc., as of 12/31/07.
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iPATH COMMODITY ETNS
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TICKER
SYMBOL
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YEARLY
FEE*
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MATURITY
DATE
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Commodity Index Total Return
SM
ETN
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DJP
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0.75
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%
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6/12/36
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iPath
®
S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN
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OIL
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0.75
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%
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8/14/36
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iPath
®
S&P GSCI Total Return Index ETN
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GSP
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0.75
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%
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6/12/36
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Agriculture Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJA
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Copper Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJC
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Grains Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJG
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Softs Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJS
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Nickel Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJN
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Energy Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJE
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Livestock Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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COW
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Industrial Metals Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJM
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Precious Metals Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJP
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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GAZ
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0.75
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%
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10/22/37
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Cocoa Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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NIB
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Coffee Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JO
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Cotton Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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BAL
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Sugar Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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SGG
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Aluminum Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJU
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Lead Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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LD
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Tin Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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JJT
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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iPath
®
Dow JonesAIG Platinum Total Return Sub-Index
SM
ETN
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PGM
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0.75
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%
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6/24/38
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*
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The investor fee is calculated cumulatively based on the yearly fee and the performance of the underlying index or currency exchange rate and increases each day based on the level
of the index or currency exchange rate on that day. Because the investor fee reduces the amount of your return at maturity or upon redemption, if the value of the underlying decreases or does not increase significantly, you may receive less than the
principal amount of your investment at maturity or upon redemption. For a more complete description of how the investor fee is calculated, please see the applicable Pricing Supplement at
www.iPathETN.com.
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The Basics of Commodities
WHAT ARE COMMODITIES?
Commodities are the goods used in the initial phase of the manufacturing process, and refer to real assets such as energy,
industrial and precious metals, agriculture and livestock. There are two commonly used benchmarks that define the composition of the commodities market.
The S&P GSCI Total Return Index is a world-production weighted index, the analogue to market
capitalization weighting for equities. The weightings also reflect the liquidity of the underlying futures contracts. The Dow JonesAIG Commodity Index Total Return
SM
is both liquidity (2/3) and production (1/3) weighted, with constraints on individual commodities (15%) and commodity groups (33%) as of the January 2008 rebalancing period. Following the annual rebalancing period,
the percentage weighting will fluctuate based on market price changes.
While each index intends to represent the commodity market, construction and
methodology differences result in varying portfolio compositions (see Figures 1 and 2).
FIGURE 1
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DOW JONESAIG COMMODITY
INDEX TOTAL RETURN
SM
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S&P GSCI TOTAL
RETURN INDEX
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Number of commodity groups
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19
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24
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Index calculation
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Arithmetic
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Arithmetic
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Weighting method
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2/3 liquidity, 1/3 production 15% for single commodity 33% cap per commodity group*
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Production
and liquidity
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Launch date
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1998
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1991
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*
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As of annual rebalancing.
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Sources: AIG, S&P,
as of 12/31/07.
FIGURE 2
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COMMODITY GROUP
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% WEIGHT IN
DOW JONESAIG COMMODITY
INDEX TOTAL RETURN
SM
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% WEIGHT IN
S&P GSCI TOTAL
RETURN INDEX
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Energy
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36
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74
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Agriculture
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34
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13
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Precious metals
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9
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2
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Industrial metals
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13
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7
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Livestock
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7
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4
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Sources: AIG, S&P, as of 12/31/07.
WHY INVEST IN COMMODITIES?
One of the most compelling reasons to add commodities to a portfolio is their ability to provide diversification. Commodities have historically low correlations to financial assets such as stocks and bonds.
Commodity and financial asset prices respond differently to capital market and economic conditions, although both are driven by the basic forces of supply and demand.
However, because stocks and bonds are publicly traded on a secondary market, prices can quickly reflect forecasted earnings and future cash flows. Conversely, many factors may contribute to how commodity prices respond to market events including
warehousing and delivery constraints, changes in supply and demand dynamics, and (in the case of physical commodities) a potential lack of fungibility. Other factors affecting commodity futures prices include weather, agriculture, trade, fiscal,
monetary, and exchange control policies, disease, pestilence, technological developments and changes in interest rates.
Because commodities have low
correlations to stocks and bonds, an allocation to commodities may enhance a portfolios risk-adjusted returns by lowering overall portfolio volatility (see Figure 3). However, trading in commodities and commodity futures is speculative and can
be extremely volatile. The factors influencing commodity futures prices may affect the value of the relevant index and value of any associated securities in varying ways, and different factors may cause the prices of the index components and the
volatilities of their prices to move in inconsistent directions at inconsistent rates.
TOTAL RETURN COMMODITY BENCHMARKS
As discussed earlier, two of the most popular commodity benchmarks are the total return versions of the Dow
JonesAIG Commodity Index
SM
and the S&P GSCI Index. Both indexes are based on a basket of collateralized commodity futures returns,
rather than simply futures price returns over a period of time. Each index calculates returns from three distinct sources (hence the classification, total return):
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The interest earned from the cash collateral committed to trading in the futures (generally Treasury bills)
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The change in futures contract price
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The return from rolling the futures into further dated contracts as they approach expiry
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FIGURE 3
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CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
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DOW JONESAIG COMMODITY
INDEX TOTAL RETURN
SM
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S&P GSCI TOTAL
RETURN INDEX
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S&P GSCI CRUDE OIL
TOTAL RETURN INDEX
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Dow JonesAIG Commodity Index Total Return
SM
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1.00
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0.88
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0.72
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S&P GSCI Total Return Index
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0.88
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1.00
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0.87
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S&P 500
®
Index
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0.10
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0.01
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0.03
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Lehman Aggregate Index
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0.01
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0.06
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0.00
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MSCI EAFE Index
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0.24
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0.14
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0.07
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Sources: AIG, S&P, Lehman Brothers, MSCI, Bloomberg (12/31/9212/31/07), based on
monthly returns.
iPATH EXCHANGE TRADED NOTES
WAYS TO INVEST IN COMMODITIES
Until now, an investor interested in adding commodities to a portfolio had three primary options to choose from:
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Buying the physical commodity:
This approach offers pure exposure to the underlying commodity, but delivery, storage and spoilage may be problematic.
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Investing through the futures or derivatives market:
This has predominantly been limited to large institutional investors with the resources and experience
to administer complicated futures portfolios themselves, or to use a total return swap and manage the related counterparty risk.
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Investing in pooled vehicles such as mutual funds:
Until recently, mutual funds presented the most viable option for individual investors or small
institutions because they provide convenient access to commodity-linked investment at reasonable costs and low investment minimums.
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The
introduction of iPath ETNs provides investors the vehicles to construct broadly diversified portfolios of traditional assets and alternative, low-correlating assets.
INNOVATIONS IN COMMODITIES VEHICLES
iPath
®
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) provide a new way to access difficult-to-reach markets such as commodities. iPath ETNs are unsecured debt securities issued by Barclays Bank PLC and deliver
exposure to the returns of an asset class or market with the trading flexibility of an equity. iPath ETNs linked to commodity indexes are designed to allow investors cost-effective access to the returns of popular commodity benchmarks, less an
investor fee. Like equities, they trade on an exchange and can be shorted.
1
Like an index fund, they offer definable performance linked to the
returns of a benchmark.
In addition to daily exchange liquidity, investors in iPath ETNs may redeem
their securities directly with the issuer, typically in a minimum amount of 50,000 units,
2
or hold the securities until maturity and receive a cash
payment equal to the principal amount of the securities on the final valuation date times the index factor minus the investor fee.
The introduction of
iPath ETNs provides investors the vehicles to construct broadly diversified portfolios of traditional assets and alternative, low-correlating assets. Additionally, iPath ETNs deliver exposure to the performance of commodities indexes for long or
short tactical strategies, with cost, tax and logistical advantages lacking in traditional commodity investment alternatives.
1.
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With short sales, you risk paying more for a security than you received from its sale.
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2.
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The issuer may from time to time in its sole discretion reduce, in part or in whole, the minimum redemption amount of 50,000 units, applicable to all holders, at the time the
reduction becomes effective.
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An investment in iPath ETNs involves risks, including possible loss of principal. For a description of the main risks see
Risk Factors in the applicable prospectus.
Barclays Bank PLC has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC
for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus and other documents Barclays Bank PLC has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these
documents for free by visiting
www.iPathETN.com
or EDGAR on the SEC website at
www.sec.gov.
Alternatively, Barclays Bank PLC will arrange for Barclays Capital Inc. to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll-free 1-877-76-iPATH, or you may request a copy from any other dealer participating in the offering.
Barclays Global Investors Services, a subsidiary of Barclays Global Investors, N.A. (BGINA), assists in the promotion of the
Securities. Barclays Global Investors, N.A. and Barclays Capital Inc. (BCI) are affiliates of Barclays Bank PLC.
iPath ETNs (the
Securities) are unsecured obligations of Barclays Bank PLC and are not secured debt. The Securities are riskier than ordinary unsecured debt securities and have no principal protection.
Risks of investing in the Securities include
limited portfolio diversification, trade price fluctuations, uncertain principal repayment, and illiquidity. Investing in the Securities is not equivalent to direct investment in index or index components. The investor fee will reduce the amount of
your return at maturity or on redemption, and as a result you may receive less than the principal amount of your investment at maturity or upon redemption of your Securities even if the value of the relevant index has increased. An investment in
iPath ETNs may not be suitable for all investors.
The Securities may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. There are
restrictions on the minimum number of Securities you may redeem directly with the issuer as specified in the applicable prospectus. Commissions may apply and there are tax consequences in the event of sale, redemption or maturity of Securities.
Sales in the secondary market may result in significant losses.
The index components for iPath ETNs linked to commodities indexes are concentrated
in the commodities sector. The market value of the Securities may be influenced by many unpredictable factors, including, where applicable, highly volatile commodities prices, changes in supply and demand relationships; weather; agriculture; trade;
pestilence; changes in interest rates; and monetary and other governmental policies, action and inaction. Index components that track the performance of a single commodity, or index components concentrated in a single sector, are speculative and may
typically exhibit higher volatility. The current or spot prices of the underlying physical commodities may also affect, in a volatile and inconsistent manner, the prices of futures contracts in respect of the relevant commodity. These
factors may affect the value of the index and the value of your Securities in varying ways.
In addition to factors affecting commodities generally, index
components composed of futures contracts on nickel or copper, which are industrial metals, may be subject to a number of additional factors specific to industrial metals that might cause price volatility. These include changes in the level of
industrial activity using industrial metals (including the availability of substitutes such as man-made or synthetic substitutes); disruptions in the supply chain, from mining to storage to smelting or refining; adjustments to inventory; variations
in production costs, including storage, labor and energy costs; costs associated with regulatory compliance, including environmental regulations; and changes in industrial, government and consumer demand, both in individual consuming nations and
internationally. Index components concentrated in futures contracts on agricultural products, including grains, may be subject to a number of additional factors specific to agricultural products that might cause price volatility. These include
weather conditions, including floods, drought and freezing conditions; changes in government policies; planting decisions; and changes in demand for agricultural products, both with end users and as inputs into various industries.
iPath ETNs typically have lower investor fees than currently existing mutual funds that invest in similar markets and are available to retail investors. Buying and
selling iPath ETNs will result in brokerage commissions.
BGINA and its affiliates, and BCI and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing
contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein (including any attachments) (i) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by you for the purpose of
avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and (ii) was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transactions or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, you should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax
advisor.
Dow Jones
®
,
AIG
®
, Dow JonesAIG Commodity Index
SM
,
DJ-AIGCI
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Commodity Index Total Return
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Agriculture Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Aluminum Total
Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Cocoa Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Coffee Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow
JonesAIG Copper Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Cotton Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Energy Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow
JonesAIG Grains Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Industrial Metals Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Lead Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Livestock Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Natural Gas Total Return
Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Nickel Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Platinum Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Precious Metals
Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Softs Total Return Sub-Index
SM
, Dow JonesAIG Sugar Total Return Sub-Index
SM
and
Dow JonesAIG Tin Total Return Sub-Index
SM
are registered trademarks or servicemarks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
(Dow Jones), and American International Group, Inc. (AIG), as the case may be, and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Barclays Bank PLC for the Securities. The Securities based on the Dow JonesAIG
Commodity Index Total Return
SM
are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIG-FP), AIG,
or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates and none of Dow Jones, AIG-FP, AIG, or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates makes any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such Securities.
Standard & Poors
®
,
S&P
®
, GSCI
®
, S&P GSCI, S&P GSCI Index, S&P
GSCI Total Return Index, S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index and S&P GSCI Commodity Index are trademarks or service marks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by
Barclays Bank PLC in connection with the Securities. The S&P GSCI Index, the S&P GSCI Total Return Index, the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index, and S&P GSCI Commodity Index are not owned, endorsed, or
approved by or associated with Goldman Sachs & Co. or its affiliated companies. The Securities are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poors, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. or any of its
affiliates (Standard & Poors). Standard & Poors does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Securities or any member of the public regarding the advisability of
investing in securities generally or in the Securities particularly or the ability of the S&P GSCI Index or any of its subindexes to track general commodity market performance.
©
2008 BGINA. All rights reserved. iPath, iPath ETNs
and the iPath logo are registered trademarks of Barclays Bank PLC. All other trademarks, servicemarks or registered trademarks are the property, and used with the permission, of their respective owners. 7431-iP-0608 1273-09BK-7/08
Not FDIC Insured No Bank Guarantee May Lose Value
BCY-M-011-06008
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