ETF Securities, which provides commodity-based exchange traded funds, has hired a head of research to come up with more product ideas and to provide bespoke research for its clients.

The company's assets under management have soared from $1bn (£504m, €649m) to $5bn in the past nine months as investors have fled volatile equity markets and sought uncorrelated returns in commodities. Even allowing for the impact of the falling dollar, this impressively outstrips the 43 per cent growth of assets in all ETFs in Europe last year.