The Swiss structured products firm has announced a strategic partnership with Blackrock to develop and distribute derivative products linked to Blackrock’s fund universe.
Leonteq and Blackrock are cooperating on the development, distribution and marketing of derivative products linked to Blackrock’s Luxembourg mutual fund range and iShares UCITS ETF range.
Swiss firm Leonteq will develop and market structured investment products with Blackrock funds and iShares ETFs as underlying assets. It will also include BlackRock’s range of funds and iShares as underlyings on its digital platform for structured products, LynQs, and generate monthly product ideas for distribution across its global salesforce.
Leonteq’s fund derivatives desk provides dedicated trading and structuring expertise on mutual funds, working closely with a wide range of fund management companies. The Swiss firm is seeking to leverage its structured products expertise ‘to offer clients downside protection, potential for higher returns or more investment flexibility when investing in mutual funds’.
‘This new partnership presents a great opportunity to introduce our leading funds and ETF range to a broader group of structured product investors,’ said Ed Gordon (pictured), head of iShares & Wealth Blackrock Switzerland.
The fund manager has 36 funds and indices recorded on SRP’s database, some of which are featured across 82 live structured products including the Blackrock iBLD Diversa VC7 ER Index (27 products/US$108.67m); Blackrock iBLD Claria Index (10 products/US$205.03m); and Blackrock Dynamic Factor Index (seven products/US$10.62m). The main Blackrock funds on SRP’s database include the Blackrock Global Funds - Global High Yield Bond Fund A2 Hedged EUR ACC (five products/US$16.12m); Blackrock Global Funds – Global Allocation Fund (five products/US$19.02m); and Blackrock Global Funds - Euro Bond Fund (five products/US$29.74m).
The agreement comes on the heels of a new agreement with Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank, to collaborate in the issuance and distribution of structured investment products, as well as new enhancements added to its LynQs platform including a new design and navigation system with direct access from the dashboard to barrier events.
The new functionalities are aimed at investors seeking to manage their portfolio across the entire value chain visualising their entire portfolio from a risk, cash flow or position perspective, as well as access to new investment ideas, and real-time notifications. LynQs is also available for download via the mobile app store in Switzerland.
The new changes come on the heels of Leonteq’s LynQs digital platform launch in September 2019, as the firm’s Constructor platform is phased out.
With a 10.7% market share, Leonteq appears as the second issuer in Switzerland with 741 products worth an estimated US$107.8m, year to date, according to SRP data. The firm reported a strong first quarter with high levels of client activity and a positive trading result on the back of increased volatility towards the end of February despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.