Chile’s pension funds join global gold ETP rush

Chilean pension funds have been given the go-ahead by the country’s financial regulator to invest in gold exchange traded products for the first time.

The relaxation is part of a brace of reforms in Latin America, alongside Brazil’s decision to allow cross listings of overseas exchange traded funds in the form of depositary receipts, that could help breathe new life into the region’s stuttering ETF industry.

Felipe Cousiño, a partner at Alessandri, a Chilean law firm, said the move was part of an ongoing relaxation of the rules around the pension industry, the most developed in the region with about $200bn of assets, two-thirds of Chile’s gross domestic product.

Once restricted to liquid assets, a 2018 reform allowed pension funds to invest in alternative assets, such as private equity, private debt and infrastructure and real estate funds, for the first time. Gold ETPs have now been added to the list, provided they meet various standards around size, manager experience and ratings.

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