National Spot Exchange (NSEL), the electronic spot market for commodities, has launched e-Zinc contracts under its e-Series products with effect from January 14, 2011.
NSEL’s e-Series products, which are commodity investment products in demat form, were introduced in 2010 to help retail investors invest in commodities. This launch will enable investors to invest even in denominations as small as 1 kg. The settlement will be on T+2 basis.
Transparent pricing, seamless trading and zero holding cost make e-Series products very attractive to investors. Moreover, e-Series products are offered to retail investors at the same price across the country with the option of physical delivery, which have resulted in e-Gold, e-Silver and e-Copper becoming benchmark (in pricing) for the physical commodity.
Anjani Sinha, MD & CEO, NSEL said, “e-Series products are creating a niche market for investment products in the commodities sector. With the launch of e-Zinc, retail investors and high networth individuals (HNIs) can add another base metal to their investment portfolio.” Retail investors can invest in e-Series in smaller denominations, like in systematic investment plans (SIP) on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Moreover, there is also no storage cost for e-Series.
In 2010, e-Series products outperformed many other investment products, yielding better returns than equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). e-Gold (launched in March, 2010), has returned over 21 per cent till now and e-Silver more than 62 per cent. Launched in November 2010, e-Copper has given 22 per cent. In comparison, equities (as a measure of Nifty) gave 17.30 per cent and gold ETFs gave around 21-22 per cent.
NSEL’s e-Series products have surpassed the returns of many other investment products and witnessed a huge increase in turnover. At present, NSEL witnesses a turnover of around Rs 500 crore a day in its e-Series segment. This turnover is expected to double by the end of 2011.