WisdomTree Hedged Commodity Securities Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)
11.
Financial Risk Management
The Company is exposed to a number of risks arising from its activities, including credit risk, settlement risk,
liquidity risk and market risk. The Board is responsible for the overall risk management approach and for
approving the risk management strategies and principles. The Board meets frequently to consider the risk
exposures of the Company and to determine appropriate management policies. The risk management
policies employed by the Company to manage these are discussed below.
The Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities are subject to normal market fluctuations and other risks
inherent in investing in securities and other financial instruments. There can be no assurance that any
appreciation in the value of securities will occur, and the capital value of an investor’s original investment is
not guaranteed. The value of investments may go down as well as up, and an investor may not get back the
original amount invested.
The information provided below is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of all the risks associated
with the Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities and investors should refer to the most recent Prospectus
for a detailed summary of the risks inherent in investing in the Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities. Any
data provided should not be used or interpreted as a basis for future forecast or investment performance.
(a)
Credit Risk
Credit risk primarily refers to the risk that holders of Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities who have
entered into an authorised participant agreement with the Company (“Authorised Participants”) or the
Commodity Contract Counterparties will default on their contractual obligations resulting in financial loss.
Each class of Currency-Hedged Commodity Security is issued under limited recourse arrangements whereby
the holders have recourse only to the relevant Commodity Contracts (held to support the Currency-Hedged
Commodity Securities) and not to the Commodity Contracts of any other class of Currency-Hedged
Commodity Securities or to the Company, therefore limiting the credit risk of the Company in connection with
the issue of the Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities.
There are compulsory redemption provisions as outlined in the prospectus that can be triggered by the
Company or the Commodity Contract Counterparties in certain circumstances whereby a compulsory
redemption of all Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities in issue would be undertaken.
The total carrying amounts of the amounts receivable awaiting settlement and trade and other receivables
best represent the maximum credit risk exposure at the Statement of Financial Position date. At the reporting
date the Company’s amounts receivable awaiting settlement and trade and other receivables are detailed on
the Statement of Financial Position.
The value of Currency-Hedged Commodity Securities and the ability of the Company to repay the
redemption price is dependent on the receipt of such amount from the Commodity Contract Counterparties
and may be affected by the credit rating attached to each Commodity Contract Counterparty. Currently the
Company has two Commodity Contract Counterparties, Merrill Lynch International and Citigroup Global
Markets Limited. At the reporting date the exposure to the Commodity Contract Counterparties was split
approximately 64% and 36% (2020: 95% and 5%), respectively. An exercise was undertaken during the year
to reallocate the exposure between the Commodity Contract Counterparties to a more even allocation.
In the event that a Commodity Contract Counterparty was to default, the Company would only transact with
the non-defaulting Commodity Contract Counterparty. Furthermore, the Company could use the proceeds
resulting from the sale of the collateral (see below) to transact with the non-defaulting Commodity Contract
Counterparty to replacing the affected Commodity Contracts where possible.
To cover the credit risk under the Commodity Contracts, the Commodity Contract Counterparties are obliged
to place an amount of collateral, equal to or greater than the exposure, into a pledge account with the
custodian, based on the total outstanding value of the Commodity Contracts at the end of the previous
trading day. The collateral held with the custodian is held in accounts in the names of the Commodity
Contract Counterparties. In the event of default by a Commodity Contract Counterparty, the Company has
rights which it can exercise over the collateral amounts placed in this pledge account. The realised value of
the collateral may differ from the amount owed by the Currency Transaction Counterparty, as prices fluctuate
intraday (i.e. from the last point the exposure and collateral were valued). Our collateral schemes apply strict
margins and concentration limits to reduce the risk of such a loss, but do not completely remove it.