What does UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse mean for ETFs?

etf

What does UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse mean for ETFs?

UBS will also become the second-largest passive fund provider in Europe, overtaking Vanguard and Amundi, and lagging only BlackRock in index fund and ETF assets.

So whilst another big firm gets bigger, will this prompt other large ETF managers to look to make acquisitions and also muscle up? Maybe.

One thing that it’s definitely going to prompt is significant job cuts within the Credit Suisse business. If we were working in the Credit Suisse ETF team, we would be thinking on our exit strategy as better to jump than be pushed.

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

US Bank has entered the European ETF servicing market on the launch of the Horizon Kinetics inflation beneficiaries ETF.

This is becoming a fiercely competitive space with a number of large firms now challenging the incumbents e.g. JP Morgan, Citi, Cacaeis. etfstream

Fidelity announced the launch of the Fidelity Global Government Bond Climate Aware UCITS ETF. The Fund is the third in a series of climate focused ETF launches and enhancements at Fidelity. etfexpress

State Street Global Advisors has cut the fee charged on the $500 million SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI UCITS ETF, making the fund the cheapest in Europe to track the investable-market-index version of the foremost world equity index, the MSCI ACWI.

Effective 3 April 2023, the fund will reduce its TER from 0.40% to 0.17%. etfstrategy

UBS Asset Management has launched a new physically backed gold ETF in Europe designed to satisfy climate-conscious investors by holding only gold bars that have been certified carbon-neutral.

The UBS (CH) FS-Carbon Compensated Gold ETF (GLDCO2 SW) has been listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. etfstrategy

Ossiam is closing the Ossiam Risk Weighted Enhanced Commodity Ex Grains UCITS ETF (CRWE) and the Ossiam World ESG Machine Learning UCITS ETF (OWLE) due to declining assets and limited demand. etfstream

 

AMERICAS

Roundhill Investments has launched a new ETF providing focused exposure to the largest banks listed in the US.

The Roundhill Big Bank ETF (BIGB US) has been listed on Nasdaq with an expense ratio of 0.29%, coming to market with $25 million in initial assets. etfstrategy

Bitwise Asset Management has unveiled a new ETF which provides exposure to bitcoin futures while utilizing an advanced rolling strategy in a bid to enhance returns.

The Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC US) has been listed on NYSE Arca with a management fee of 0.85%. etfstrategy

AllianceBernstein announced the launch of three new active equity ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange Arca: the AB US Low Volatility Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: LOWV), the AB US High Dividend ETF (NYSE Arca: HIDV), and the AB Disruptors ETF (NYSE Arca: FWD).

These are the firm’s first equity-focused ETFs. etftrends

Sprott Asset Management announced the launch of the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (Nasdaq: NIKL), an ETF focused on nickel mining companies that provide a mineral necessary for the clean energy transition. yahoo

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

Hong Kong’s crypto ETF buzz fades as interest dries up. CSOP Asset Management listed the territory’s first crypto-futures ETFs in December last year.

Although CSOP AM’s two crypto-futures ETFs created a buzz when they were listed with relatively strong initial fundraising, investor interest in the funds has fallen. Assets in the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF dropped by around 60% to US$28.08 million from US$58.89 million on its debut in mid-December.

Similarly, assets in the CSOP Ether Futures ETF more than halved from US$20.5 million to US$9.79 million.

Meanwhile the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, has attracted a mere US$3.5 million in assets since launch. ignitesasia

 

CLICK to listen stories from inspiring. This week we speak with Perth Tolle, Founder at Life + Liberty Indexes.

In this conversation we hear Perth tell the story about how she started her business, why she loves crazy ideas, how being a mom has helped give her a voice of authority and how she found her seed investor by going on a fishing trip.

 

Flows

 

ETFs industry in the United States gathered US$8.17 billion in net inflows in February 2023, reports ETFGI.

YTD net inflows of $47.69 Bn are the sixth highest on record, while the highest recorded YTD net inflows are of $153.95 Bn for 2021 followed by YTD net inflows of $99.04 Bn in 2022.

10th month of consecutive net inflows.

Assets of $6.76 Tn invested in ETFs industry in the United States at the end of February.

Assets increased 3.8% YTD in 2023, going from $6.51 Tn at end of 2022 to $6.75 Tn.

 

Noteworthy

 

Hundreds of funds are about to be stripped of their ESG ratings and thousands more will be downgraded in a shake-up by MSCI.

The impact could be particularly acute in Europe where a growing number of institutions will only invest in funds that are deemed to be compliant with ESG-investing principles.

MSCI is yet to publish the results of a consultation on its ESG ratings, but the number of European ETFs with a triple-A ESG rating from MSCI is set to tumble from 1,120 to just 54, while the number with no rating will surge from 24 to 462. FT

UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse is set to create the fourth-largest ETF issuer in Europe with €89bn assets under management (AUM), according to data from Refinitiv. Lipperalpha

 

Additional reads

 

ETFs to play a crucial role in SoFi’s growth. etftrends

Credit Suisse rescue deal will ‘kill off’ CoCo bond market, expert warns. etfstream

 

From behind the Desk

 

This week Blackwater won Best ETF Research Provider at the ETF Express European Awards 2023.

I cannot tell you how cool something like this feels as it is voted on by peers within the industry, so to receive such recognition makes it all worthwhile.

When it comes to content our mission is to produce stuff we feel is worthwhile, is educational and can make a difference.

We are not sponsored, we are not paid, we are not selling a product, so there is no material gain whatsoever in it for us.

We are just trying to do something of value. So, thank you to everyone who recognised that.