In the aftermath of the Cyprus deposit confiscation, everyone can be excused about feeling a little bit concerned about their deposits held at a European (or any other) bank. Everyone can certainly be excused about feeling concerned about their (rehypothecated) precious metals holdings, Cyprus or not, with any financial counterparty anywhere in the world (because in matters such as those, we don't need Diesel-BOOM to tell us that Executive Order 6102 is "the template"). Recently one reader put two and two together, and in the aftermath of the Zero Hedge expose of JPM's London gold vault [6]and the Cypriot deposit confiscation, decided to express his concern to Blackrock about the safety of his ishares physical gold ETF backed by gold held in the abovementioned vault. To his comfort, Blackrock promptly replied that there is "no risk" (perhaps this too means there is "no plan B"), and that the gold in the vault, unlike the cash in assorted European banks, is safe. Why? Read on...
From: "___ " <___ .____@blackrock.com [7]>
Date: 25 March 2013 11:59:57 GMT
To: "@gmail.com" <@gmail.com>
Subject: RE: GB Private Investor - Contact BlackRock Message: iShares
Hi,
Thank you for contacting iShares.
The vault is extremely secure.
In the extremely unlikely case that the vault is broken into, JP Morgan has insurance to cover custody of the metal.
Kind regards,
The iShares Team
The information provided does not constitute an advertisement or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any fund referred to in this presentation nor shall any funds referred to be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Any investment in any funds mentioned is made subject to the terms of the fund Prospectus, relevant Supplement(s) and other relevant documentation of the funds, which should be read in their entirety. Certain information provided has been taken from trade and other sources BlackRock considers reliable but does not guarantee as such. Any opinions expressed reflect BlackRock’s judgment at this date and are subject to change. The funds mentioned may or may not be suitable for all investors. BlackRock does not guarantee the performance of the funds. Please take independent legal and tax advice before making any investment decisions.
-----Original Message-----
From: @gmail.com [mailto:@gmail.com [8]]
Sent: 18 February 2013 21:35
To: iShares Feedback
Subject: GB Private Investor - Contact BlackRock Message: iShares
From:
Company: Individual Investor
Email: @gmail.com
Message follows:
Hi,
I hold shares in the ishares physical gold ETC (SGLN). I read that the location of the London vault of the custodian JP Morgan is now public knowledge.
Is the iShares gold held by JP Morgan in London still securely protected, and how does this affect the value of my iShares SGLN?
Yours sincerely
And now you know: no risk... "it's insured"