The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.

Quintet Private Bank, BlackRock
Quintet Private Bank, the Luxembourg-headquartered parent of UK-based Brown Shipley, has launched the first in a series of multi-manager UCITS funds designed with global asset manager BlackRock.

This follows the firm signing a cooperation agreement with BlackRock in 2023 that will extend the investment capabilities of the Quintet Group including Brown Shipley, strengthening its ability to meet the long-term needs of its clients while retaining control of its investment decision-making.

Each of these actively managed, single asset class funds will blend a selection of third-party managers into one fund that will aim to support portfolio performance and enhance diversification. In the UK, these will be available exclusively to Brown Shipley clients, the firm said in a statement.

The initial fund, QMM Actively Managed US Equity, which has been launched following regulatory approval, is available for investment exclusively by Brown Shipley and Quintet Group clients as part of the private bank’s flagship portfolios. This US dollar-denominated fund aims to outperform its benchmark by combining actively managed US equity strategies favouring different styles, the firm continued.

Like the three additional multi-manager funds to be launched by the end of May 2024 with BlackRock – covering global high-yield bonds, continental European equities and global investment-grade corporate bonds – the US equity fund incorporates environmental, social and governance considerations in line with Quintet’s sustainable investment policy, the firm added. Quintet said it will use Aladdin, BlackRock’s proprietary investment technology platform, for its risk analytics and reporting.

Legal & General Investment Management
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has just expanded its exchange-traded fund (ETF) range with the launch of the L&G Energy Transition Commodities UCITS ETF. 

The fund aims to provide exposure to the three supporting pillars of the energy transition through commodity futures, harnessing the growth potential embedded within the next chapter of the global energy story.

The fund, which is a first to market, offers investors liquid and diversified exposure to a combination of commodities central to the energy transition, the firm said in a statement. It provides access to three commodity groups with supportive demand side dynamics. These include transition metals that are needed to produce, store and distribute clean energy; lower carbon transition energy sources such as natural gas and ethanol which can help overcome peak energy demand and the challenge of ‘hard to abate’ sectors; and carbon pricing that increases the cost of polluting activities, incentivising the switch to low- and no-carbon activities.

The fund provides access to 18 liquid commodities in a diversified and liquid manner, including an allocation to carbon markets. It builds on LGIM’s broader range of commodities ETFs – including the L&G All Commodities UCITS ETF, the L&G Longer Dated All Commodities UCITS ETF and the L&G Enhanced Commodities UCITS ETF. The expansion of the range reflects the demand for investment solutions with low correlation to other asset classes, allowing clients to tap into potential growth opportunities across the real economy, the firm said.

It will be available to both wholesale and institutional investors, registered in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Spain, as well institutional investors in Singapore. It has been categorised as Article 6 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and will be managed by LGIM’s ETF team.