ETF Week Ahead: GLD gets options, Vanguard announces share splits
June 9, 2008

SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) - After a long four year wait, trading of call and put options on the SPDR Gold Trust (Ticker: GLD) has finally come to pass. The regulatory hurdles faced by both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been resolved.

Since gold is regulated by the CFTC whereas securities are regulated by the SEC, GLD’s hybrid nature complicated matters, which slowed the process of listing options. Even though the trust's gold is held in a secured vault in the form of London Good Delivery Bars, GLD is still governed under the Securities Act of 1933.

Judging by the initial volume, trading in GLD options has been brisk. Put options with a strike price of $85 for the July expiration already had almost 4,000 outstanding option contracts.

A call option is a contract that gives the holder the right to buy the underlying security at a specific price (strike price) within a certain time frame. A put option provides the holder the opposite benefit – the right to sell the underlying security at a specific price within a fixed period of time.

Vanguard Plans ETF Share Splits
Vanguard is planning 2-for-1 share splits for the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (Ticker: VTI), Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (Ticker: VWO) and the Vanguard Extended Market ETF (Ticker: VXF).

The share split for these three Vanguard ETFs is expected to take place on June 17 to shareholders that owned the funds as of June 13. The ETFs will trade at the new split-adjusted prices beginning on June 18.

When the split takes place, investors in the funds will receive an extra share for each one they already own.

One of the purposes of share splits is to accommodate smaller investors by making shares more affordable.

Operation Shut Down for Ameristock Treasury ETFs
Five Ameristock ETFs will be liquidated.

The funds are the Ameristock/Ryan 1 Year Treasury ETF (Ticker: GKA), the Ameristock/Ryan 2 Year Treasury ETF (Ticker: GKB), the Ameristock/Ryan 5 Year Treasury ETF (Ticker: GKC), the Ameristock/Ryan 10 Year Treasury ETF (Ticker: GKD), and the Ameristock/Ryan 20 Year Treasury ETF (Ticker: GKE).

Ameristock determined that closing the funds was in the best interests of the funds and their shareholders because the funds failed to gather sufficient assets to continue their business and operations in an economically viable manner.

June 10, 2008 will be the last day of trading in the Funds on the American Stock Exchange, and the last day on which creation unit aggregations of Fund shares may be purchased or redeemed. The American Stock Exchange will halt trading in the Funds before the open of trading on June 11, 2008.

Shareholders may sell their holdings on or prior to June 10, 2008, incurring a transaction fee from their broker-dealer. From June 11, 2008 through June 19, 2008, shareholders may not be able to sell their shares, although it is possible that certain broker-dealers will be willing to purchase them.

Top 5 Most Popular Articles:

Choosing the Right Country ETFs

Popular Benchmarks May not be Best Portfolio Building Blocks

Turning Mutual Fund Losers into Winners

Niche ETFs Flood Market

Profiting from the New Energy Movement