Standard Chartered has suspended new investments by its clients in China into offshore products including structured products via the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) scheme.
In a client note, the UK bank said it would not take new subscriptions into offshore-domiciled funds sold via the QDII scheme starting 22 February.
Standard Chartered China has suspended the subscription of relevant products for commercial reasons
“Standard Chartered China has suspended the subscription of relevant products for commercial reasons,” a spokesperson at Standard Chartered told SRP.
The bank did not elaborate on the commercial reasons behind the suspension of new investments under the qualified domestic institutional investor.
Introduced in 2006, the QDII scheme is a quota-based channel that allows eligible Chinese domestic institutions and fund managers to invest offshore within quotas.
SRP reported in May 2022 that UBS issued two tranches of structured notes linked to USD 10-year constant maturity swap (CMS) in China, which were offered under the QDII scheme. In June 2022, HSBC China announced the expansion of global private banking in mainland China to boost wealth solutions for mass affluent and private banking clients.
HSBC China is the first foreign bank to enable private banking clients to manage their wealth and investments including structured products, local funds, QDII fund products and recognised Hong Kong funds via mobile banking.
Swiss manager debuts gold arbitrage strategy AMC.
Swiss manager Calliopa Capital has launched a new actively managed certificate targeting long-term returns through arbitrage trading in physical gold.
The strategy is a partnership with precious metals investment and trading house Goldstream Global and structured products specialist CAT Financial Products - physical gold trading is the core business of Goldstream Global.
The CC Gold Arbitrage Strategy AMC is designed to earn long-term returns through arbitrage trading of physical gold. The CC Gold Arbitrage Strategy AMC is aimed at investors seeking diversification with ‘a fully hedged value chain, comprehensive insurance and a growth strategy that targets a return of 10-15% p.a.’
The AMC was set up by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) based in Guernsey and is managed by Calliopa Capital.
Due to Goldstream Global's buy/sell process, the risk of price fluctuations is minimised as the transactions take place ‘back-to-back’ and Goldstream is in possession of either the physical gold or the respective sale proceeds at all times. The transport of the gold is carried out by specialised, guarded transport companies that are experts in their field. Since gold trading takes place from the source to the customer, there is no storage risk as the gold is not held in stock or in storage.
The investor is limited to the predefined coupon and has no correlation with the development of the price of gold. The strategy is inflation-protected and uses the three-month benchmark interest rate of the respective currency plus a premium of 10% pa.
Chicago RIA unveils partnership with iCapital
Keebeck Wealth Management, an independent advisory firm targeted at entrepreneurs and multigenerational families, has announced a strategic partnership with iCapital.
Under the new arrangement, the Chicago-based firm will seek to leverage iCapital’s technology platform to broaden the investment opportunities available to the aspiring entrepreneurs, established business owners and multigenerational households it serves.
With a global reach and an alternatives shelf that includes private equity, hedge funds, and structured investments, iCapital has established itself as a major fintech player in the alternatives investment space.
The wealth tech provider’s efforts to help advisors extend their portfolio diversification capabilities past traditional stocks and bonds include a move to expand access to its Architect portfolio construction tool announced last week, and a July agreement to integrate its structured investments offering into the Envestnet platform for advisors.
‘As Keebeck continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, our partnership with iCapital becomes a cornerstone for scaling our ability to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations,’ said Bruce Lee (right), founder and CEO of Keebeck Wealth Management.
The new partnership agreement with iCapital will also support Keebeck’s plans to increase its bandwidth to manage client interactions and to supply a comprehensive array of educational resources.
‘iCapital’s platform not only offers us the technological prowess to handle high demand, but it also enriches our advisory services with extensive educational resources for both our clients and advisors,’ Lee said.
Leonteq, Glarner Kantonalbank launch pension savings solution
Leonteq and Glarner Kantonalbank have partnered to launch ‘bench’ – the first 3a pension savings solution that combines upside potential with a guarantee on the paid-in assets at the time of retirement.
The new product is ‘purely digital offering’ for the Swiss retirement market and offers a higher potential return than a standard 3a savings account, with the guarantee being freely selectable at 80%, 90% or 100%.
The new product ‘is the result of a unique collaboration in which Leonteq has contributed its technological expertise and Glarner Kantonalbank its banking know-how,’ according to Lukas Ruflin, CEO of Leonteq.
‘After several years of development work, we are delighted to bring this pension savings solution to the market, which is an innovative offering in the banking sector,’ he said.
The new solution is based on Leonteq’s newly developed technology platform Sigma, which enables automated and scalable administration of pension deposits by the Bench 3a Foundation, as well as a mobile app developed by Leonteq.
Bench Services, a joint venture in which Leonteq and Glarner Kantonalbank each hold 50% of the shares, organises the digital marketing of the new pension solution. As a service provider, Bench Services AG acts on behalf of the Bench 3a Foundation.
Sven Wiederkehr (right), CEO of Glarner Kantonalbank added: ‘Many Swiss prefer the savings account for their pillar 3a assets and thus forego potential asset growth. bench offers an uncomplicated way to let the money grow carefree until withdrawal.’
Luzerner Kantonalbank deploys new cloud-based front-to-back infrastructure
Luzerner Kantonalbank, Switzerland's 3rd largest cantonal bank, has rolled out FM Converge, a next generation markets and risk platform for banks and financial institutions.
FM Converge was developed by Finmechanics, a Singapore headquartered software company, as a high performing cross-asset front to back platform to enable banks to run their markets business on a private or public cloud. Built on a services-based architecture, the platform enables short time-to-market for new products, manages compliance with new regulations quickly and handles growth in client flow of vanilla and structured products in a seamless way.
‘By integrating FM Converge into LUKB's infrastructure, we were able to provide full cross asset pricing and risk capabilities with a very low technology footprint,’ said Anindya Sarkar, CEO of Finmechanics.
‘This project brings together our experience from large Asia Pacific and Global banks, our SaaS capabilities and highly responsive local support.’
FM Converge has been deployed on the cloud in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model to address the pricing and risk requirements of all asset classes including crypto. Going forward, cross-asset structured products, additional market and credit risk modules (such as SA-CCR and FRTB) and collateral management will be rolled out to enable the bank with a comprehensive coverage for both current and upcoming regulations.
Daniel Bommer (right), head of trading ＆ treasury services of LUKB said: ‘With the implementation of FM Converge, we were able to successfully replace the long-standing system for position management and risk management in the trading book.
‘Finmechanics clearly prevailed against a strong field of providers in the extensive tendering process,’ he said.
Cboe, MSCI Team launch index options and volatility indices
Cboe Global Markets and MSCI have joined forces to introduce index options and volatility indices.
These options, expected to launch on 18 March after regulatory approval, will enable investors to access diverse exposures across international, developed, emerging, and US markets.
‘We are excited to expand our Cboe-MSCI toolkit with additional index options and volatility indices, an enhancement that will not only broaden our customers' product choice but also enrich the ways they interact with and analyse the global markets,’ said Catherine Clay (right), global head of derivatives at Cboe.
‘Crucially, the three new index options, which cover developed and emerging markets, are expected to give investors comprehensive access to gain a variety of different exposures around the globe.’
As part of the plan, Cboe and MSCI will introduce three new index options tied to MSCI's benchmarks including the MSCI World Index, the MSCI ACWI Index, and the MSCI USA Index.
Additionally, Cboe will unveil two new volatility indices, the Cboe MSCI EAFE Volatility Index and the Cboe MSCI Emerging Markets Volatility Index. These indices enable investors to assess market sentiment and anticipate fluctuations with precision.
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