By Christopher P. Singer --
I am always impressed by the variety of investment
vehicles and innovative methods that investors and businesses use to
generate money. Back on October 25, 2006,
Ocean Tomo, an intellectual capital merchant banc that specializes in a variety
of services related to intellectual property, announced the launch of an equity
index that taps the patent asset wellspring. Priced and published by the American Stock Exchange®, the Ocean Tomo
300® Patent Index (symbol: OTPAT) is the first equity index of its kind. The index consists of 300 diverse companies
(six companies within each of fifty size and style groups) selected using Ocean
Tomo's proprietary PatentRatings® valuation software.
In recent press releases, Ocean Tomo announced that,
since its inception, the Index has enjoyed success. Its November 30, 2006 press release announced
that the Index outpaced the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 for the
month of November. In a December 4, 2006
press release the company announced that the Index outperformed all the major
U.S. market indices for the week ending December 1, 2006. Ocean Tomo also announced in its December 4th
statement that Claymore Securities has licensed the Ocean Tomo 300® Patent
Index for a proposed exchange traded fund (ETF).
It will be interesting to see how this fund progresses
through its life, and whether investors will continue to invest money in a fund
based on valuation of intangible assets.
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