Our guide to exchange traded notes

The fledging European market for exchange traded notes (ETNs) has been growing steadily, with more than $4.2bn in assets under management by the end of June 2011, according to BlackRock. However, despite sitting firmly within the burgeoning exchange traded product (ETP) family, there remains a lack of clarity both about how ETNs differ from their counterparts – exchange traded funds (ETFs) and exchange traded commodities (ETCs) – and how ETNs can be used within investor portfolios. Family resemblance First, the similarities. Like ETFs and ETCs, ETNs provide exposure to a specific un...