This case is used in Darden's second-year elective, Financial Institutions and Capital Markets, and would work well in courses covering exchange-traded commodities funds. A teaching note for this case is pending publication. At the end of May 2012, Aram Shishmanian, CEO of the World Gold Council (WGC) was considering alternatives to promote gold as an investment asset. The WGC was the sponsor for SPDR Gold Shares, which was launched in 2004 and had become the most successful commodity-based exchange-traded fund, reaching a market value of around $64 billion. This had exceeded expectations, but allocations to gold remained small among U.S. long-term institutional investors. There would also an expected shift of wealth to countries such as China and India in the coming decade. Shishmanian was considering which gold investment vehicles would be best for the WGC to promote in the United States and other markets going forward.
