ETF Securities - the group who created the first gold bullion and crude oil exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - have succeeded in simultaneously launching 29 new exchange-traded commodity (ETC) products onto the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The new funds include 19 single commodity ETCs tracking everything from aluminum to zinc, as well as nine "sector" funds and one fund tied to the popular, broad-based Dow Jones AIG Commodity Index. All of the funds track commodity indexes from Dow Jones AIG, and reflect the value of a futures investment in the underlying commodity, including the "roll yield," collateral interest and spot price changes.

For more information on the indexes, roll yields and futures-based commodity investing, click here.

For more information on the original filing of these funds, click here.

"[ETCs] have lowered many of the barriers that previously prevented some investors from investing in commodities including access, trading and operational risks, custody, and transaction costs," said Graham Tuckwell, chairman of ETF Securities.  "ETCs do not involve any of the difficulties with buying and then managing a futures position - such as worrying about margin calls, contracts expiring and rolling positions - or in buying and storing physical commodities."

Indeed, few people give the ETF industry enough credit for helping birth the commodities boom that has occurred over the past few years. While arguments that ETF asset growth is "wagging the dog" and driving up commodity prices are hard to justify, it is true that commodity-based ETFs have provided investors, for the first time ever, with an easy, low-cost way to access these markets. They have, in short, put tools previously available only to institutional investors in the hands of the retail investors and financial advisors, at a low price. It's unlikely that there would quite so much interest in the space without the funds.

It will be interesting to see how the newly listed ETCs fare.  Some fund - like the broad-based DJ-AIG product and certain controversial and highly anticipated individual commodities (like aluminum and copper) - will likely be hits right off the bat.  It's also easy to see some of the sector funds gaining early traction; for instance, many investors believe it is time to move into agricultural commodities, in part because they have trailed the market recently and in part because of the ethanol-related boom in corn products.  At the same time, it's difficult to imagine other more obscure contracts finding an easy audience, unless they are a surprise hit with the institutional set.

Either way, however, the listings put the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in an enviable position among global exchanges, positioning it at the forefront of ETF innovation. And make no mistake, they know it - they're working hard to promote the business, taking steps like setting up a separate section of their Web site devoted solely to ETCs.

The NASDAQ, which is in the process of trying to acquire the LSE, is certainly smiling at the prospects of bringing these listings stateside.

The 19 individual commodities are:

The sector funds are: