Salient to Investors:

The creator of the $125 billion market in exchange-traded gold is struggling to establish the same for industrial metals. Consumers are concerned the new products will cause shortages of industrial materials, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is trying to limit speculation.

Deborah Fuhr at ETFGI said other commodities tend not to be seen as an investment by most investors. ETFGI report 4,650 ETFs and ETPs with assets of $1.62 trillion at the end of May 2012 , versus 105 holding $79 billion in 2000.

Dave Nadig  at IndexUniverse said one can hold a million dollars worth of gold in one’s hand, but the same dollar amount of aluminum would be as high as a house.

ETPs offer investors access to almost all asset classes in a security traded like a stock and with fees lower than those of most mutual and hedge funds. One gold contract on the Comex costs more than $160,000 versus $160 a share for an ETP.

Commodities make up 9.7 percent of all U.S.-listed ETF assets, almost triple the 3.3 percent in 2006.

Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-20/founder-of-125-billion-gold-etp-market-stymied-on-copper.html