WisdomTree Enters Commodities ETF Arena

WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF), the fifth-largest U.S. issuer of exchange-traded funds, entered the commodities corner of the ETF business for the first time Friday, announcing the acquisition of closely held GreenHaven Commodity Services, LLC for $11.75 million in cash.

With the acquisition of GreenHaven Commodity Services, New York-based WisdomTree gains two commodities ETFs the GREENHAVEN Continuous Commodity Indx Fnd (NYSE:GCC) and the GreenHaven Coal Fund ETV (NYSE:TONS).

GCC has $247 million in assets under management and TONS has $1 million in assets under management, as of October 28, 2015. The financial impact of the transaction is not material to WisdomTree earnings per share, according to a statement.

The WisdomTree Advantage

Investors and ETF market observers have, broadly speaking, typically associated WisdomTree with being one of the dominant players in several of the ETF industry's fastest-growing segments, including currency hedged ETFs and strategic beta funds. For example, the WisdomTree Inter Hedged Eq Fund (NYSE:HEDJ) is this year's top asset-gathering ETF.

Additionally, WisdomTree offers an expansive lineup of seasoned, well-heeled dividend ETFs, including the WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund (ETF) (NYSE:DLN) and the WisdomTree High Dividend Fund (NYSE:DHS).

WisdomTrees planned acquisition of these unique commodity funds emphasizes our continued commitment to providing differentiated solutions in response to developments in the market and investor preferences, said WisdomTree CEO and President Jonathan Steinberg in the statement.

Although WisdomTree has previously been rumored to be a potential takeover target, the company has proven to be more buyer than seller, particularly in recent years. Last year, the company acquired Boost, a boutique provider of inverse and leveraged ETFs.

As of October 28, WisdomTree had over $57.4 billion in ETF assets under management, putting it well ahead of sixth-place First Trust, which had $41.3 billion in assets.

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