CONFERENCE CALL: Listen to NASDAQ OMX’s Head of Index Research, David Krein, as he hosts a conference call discussing “The Role of the Roll in Commodity Indexes.” This event was sponsored by Boost ETP.

GemShares, LLC, a pioneer in the delivery of physically-backed diamond investment products to regulated exchanges around the globe, and The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. today announced an agreement to develop the GemShares Global Investment Grade Standard (GIGS^™) Diamond Basket Index. This transparent, rules-based index will provide a standardized pricing mechanism for valuing a diamond basket that could be used for the development of financial products.

The NASDAQ OMX Group and GemShares will develop the GemShares GIGS Diamond Basket Index to track the prices of diamonds that have met the patented standards for investment-grade certification developed by GemShares. Through this index, diamonds that have met the GIGS gemological, proportional, optical and light-behavior guidelines can be securitized for the creation of financial products to be listed and traded on regulated exchanges globally.

"The establishment of the GemShares GIGS Diamond Basket Index will lead to the securitization of diamonds by bringing a new and enhanced level of confidence through the addition of transparency and liquidity to the process of pricing these assets for investment purposes," said Dan Gramza, GemShares Partner. "This partnership is the first step toward creating a significant bridge between the financial and diamond industries that brings the benefits of investing in diamonds to investors around the globe. By opening new channels of distribution, GemShares will enable the diamond industry to reach a broader range of customers and increase revenue."

GemShares was founded in 2007 with the goal of creating a fungible global investment standard for diamonds and gemstones. GemShares was awarded a patent for the GIGS pricing mechanism in August 2012.

"NASDAQ OMX's collaboration with GemShares represents two innovators who are committed to enhancing transparency and providing investment solutions to investors," said John L. Jacobs, Executive Vice President of Global Information Services for NASDAQ OMX. "The introduction of the GIGS™ Diamond Basket Index is another indication we continuously strive to meet demand for a wide variety of investment opportunities through the design of relevant, objective indexes."

By David Fabian, NASDAQ OMX Guest Contributor

Leveraged ETFs are some of the most widely respected and feared investment vehicles to come to market in the last 10 years. They are lauded by hedge funds, professional investors, and day traders as excellent tools to access a specific index and quickly magnify your returns. However, they have also been derided by traditional Wall Street brokers and media outlets as a dangerous weapon in the hands of unsuspecting investors. Whichever side of the argument for leveraged ETFs that you come down on, you can’t deny the continued demand and success of these sophisticated investment vehicles.

Read the entire article.

BOOST ETP has launched nine new leveraged and inverse ETPs in the United Kingdom that are based on indexes in the NASDAQ Commodity Index Family. These are the second set of BOOST ETP products linked to this family, bringing the total number of BOOST NASDAQ Commodity Index linked products to 25.

Global assets under management for short and leveraged ETPs increased 12% to $49.3 billion this year through May 31, 2013, according to BOOST ETP.

Read our press release, BOOST ETP’s education resources, or visit our Commodity Indexes page for more information.

Are you a pension consultant looking for a viable alternative to the expensive, well-known industry benchmarks? What if you could provide a new way of saving your clients money without sacrificing reliability and accuracy? We’ve been talking to managers and custodians across the globe and the sentiment is the same — show us some lower cost alternatives that we can trust and help bring fee transparency to investors.

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Listen to a call with Dave Gedeon, NASDAQ OMX Managing Director and Head of Research, for an in-depth look behind the NASDAQ Commodity Index (NQCI), the methodology and further explanation of the roll variants. The event was sponsored by Boost ETP.