"I'm wondering if the investment community is being lulled into a sense of false security with the term exchange traded fund / ETF and wonder if they would be better called (and differentiated) 'exchange traded synthetics' and 'exchange traded physicals'? Would greatly appreciate your thoughts. Best wishes to you and Eoin, and thank you for a wonderful service."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for your generous feedback. I fully agree that it is often difficult to ascertain what exactly is being offered when financial products have almost identical names and seem to offer very similar exposure to various markets.

Tracking funds have grown in complexity as the market for these products has expanded and this is particularly the case when applied to commodities As I understand it, from a legal perspective, it is the responsibility of the individual investor to their own due diligence. So caveat emptor.

A valid piece of advice often attributed to Warren Buffett is buy nothing you do not understand and I believe this is equally applicable to the maze of different exchange traded products now on offer. I suspect that very few investors actually read prospectuses and this is a real pity because they often state quite clearly the risks attached to various investments.

Personally, I am deeply suspicious of funds that do not physically hold the instruments they purport to track the price of.