iShares Physical Platinum ETC

What this fund is

iShares Physical Platinum ETC is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) from iShares, traded under the ticker IPLT (ISIN IE00B4LHWP62). It lets you buy a basket of holdings in a single trade, spreading your money across them rather than one company. In plain terms it is about tracking physical commodities like gold or oil, which often move differently from shares and are used to spread risk or hedge inflation, spread across its target market. It is typically held as a diversifier — a slice that behaves differently from mainstream shares — rather than as a portfolio's main engine.

Its ongoing charge (TER) is 0.2% a year — about €20 a year on a €10,000 holding, taken automatically from the fund. Income such as dividends is automatically reinvested inside the fund (an accumulating share class), so returns compound without you doing anything. It holds the underlying investments directly (physical replication); it is domiciled in Ireland and trades in USD. Its price has swung about 41.3% over the past year, which describes how much its price tends to move rather than whether it is good.

It launched in 2011. As with any investment, its value can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a guide to future results. (Fund data sourced from iShares.)