HSBC has rolled out the new HSBC Jade Private Market Investments service to support high-net worth clients to access exclusive opportunities, which were previously only available to private banking and institutional clients.
The new service will enable HSBC Jade clients to strengthen their portfolios with a more diverse range of investments, including private equity and hedge funds, primary bonds, equity block trades and private placement of structured notes.
The new HSBC Jade service will have a wider choice of investments, including private equity and hedge funds, primary bonds, equity block trades and private placement of structured notes.
‘The new HSBC Jade service marks our commitment to offer differentiated wealth solutions to our customers,’ said Maggie Ng (pictured), head of wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong SAR, HSBC, adding that the bank’s wealth business is ‘an important pillar of our growth strategy in Asia, where we are planning to invest US$3.5 billion and hire 5,000 wealth roles in the next five years’.
Under the category of private equities and hedge funds, HSBC will connect HSBC Jade clients with potential returns from private real estate investments in global locations, as well as certain hedge funds. The bank said that there will not be capital lock-ups or capital calls, along with a discounted initial charge of 0.95% on transaction value for HSBC Jade clients.
The HSBC Jade channel also gives clients access to the primary market for new bonds and structured products private placements which are not typically open to the public. The UK bank said that in the second half of 2021, clients will also be able to buy blocks of equities offered by a specific listed company or its major shareholders at a discount.
Brian Hui, head of customer propositions and marketing, wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong SAR, at the bank, said the new service will enable HSBC Jade clients ‘transcend the boundaries of retail products through a suite of private market investments - private equity & hedge funds, primary bonds, equity block trades and private placement of structured notes’.
Virtu’s RFQ-hub report record-setting ESG derivatives trades
Virtu Financial, has reported that RFQ-hub, the firm’s bilateral multi-asset and multi-dealer request for quote (RFQ) platform, recently facilitated two record-setting trades in environmental, social and governance (ESG) options.
The first was for 10,000 ESG option contracts of S&P 500 ESG Index with a value of nearly US$332m, while the second was for 100,000 ESG option contracts of Stoxx Europe 600 ESG-X Index with a value of €1.5 billion (US$1.67 billion).
Attracted by RFQ-hub’s transparency, operational efficiency, audit trail and embedded analytics, Asset managers are increasingly relying on the platform to negotiate trades related to ESG instruments, according to David Angel, head of continental Europe, Virtu Financial.
‘These trades, together with a series of new infrastructure and GUI’s and expanded instrument coverage initiatives - such as the recent launch of a new Swaptions module – will help position RFQ-hub,’ he said.
RFQ-hub is targeted at asset managers and market makers seeking ‘aggregated and competitive liquidity, streamline workflow and improve pricing, with a focus on equity and fixed income listed and OTC derivatives, structured products and ETFs’.
First exchange-traded crypto currency trading strategy AMC launched in Germany
Liechtenstein-based white label issuer of actively managed certificates (AMC) and exchange-traded instruments iMaps ETI has launched a new AMC on the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
The Crypto Alpha Strategy ETI (ISIN: DE000A3GQF18) was issued for Belvoir Capital and is based on futures of the most liquid cryptocurrencies.
Futures are traded in the respective currencies via an AI-supported software system with all trades executed automatically.
The product aims at gaining alpha from the price movements of crypto currencies as well as lower volatility and, at best, zero correlation to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to Andreas Woelfl (right), founder and chairman of the board of directors of iMaps ETI.
‘Being issued under an approved base prospectus for Exchange Traded Instruments in the form of derivative securities iMaps Actively Managed Certificates come with a public offering,’ said Woelfl. ‘iMaps ETI undertakes to provide daily liquidity with a maximum spread of two percent for its Exchange Traded Instruments.’
‘The combination of crypto investments with one a market-neutral, risk-controlled investment approach is ideal for those investors who still seem alien to the crypto world,’ said Steffen Bauke, CEO of Belvoir Capital.
Nasdaq rollsout Nasdaq 100 Micro index options
Nasdaq has launched new options on the Nasdaq-100 Micro Index which are listed on the Nasdaq PHLX options exchange, and available on several trading platforms that support index options.
The Nasdaq-100 is one of the world’s preeminent and increasingly popular large-cap growth indexes, with exposure to leading businesses that drive the economy across a broad swath of industries including technology, healthcare and consumer staples.
As the Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) continues to outperform the market, the notional size of NDX index options often outsize the reach of individual investors, according to the exchange. Nasdaq 100 Micro index options address this by representing 1/100th the full value of the Nasdaq-100 index, providing investors with a lower notional entry point.
This enables main street investors to mitigate risk and enhance the yield of the Nasdaq 100 with a new, cost-effective tradable instrument, according to Greg Ferrari, vice president and head of US options at Nasdaq.
“Option investor engagement is at an important inflection point, with newer participants embracing the options market like never before,” he said.
Upon initial launch, Nasdaq 100 Micro index options are available for monthly expirations, with weekly expirations set to launch later next month. Additional expiries, including long-term equity anticipation securities (LEAPS) as well as Monday and Wednesday weekly expiries, which will be added per customer demand.
In total, NDX gained in value by more than 40% last year, with the notional value of all financial instruments that follow the index exceeding US$1 trillion.
21Shares releases Stellar, Cardano ETPs
Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) provider 21Shares has launched today (26 April) the first Stellar XLM ETP (AXLM) and Cardano ADA ETP (AADA) on the Swiss stock exchange (Six Exchange).
During the last rebalancing review, Stellar was admitted by index provider MVIS as the fourth constituent of the Amun Crypto Basket Index (HODL5), after bitcoin cash (BCH) and XRP were removed. The index comprised the top-five cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity - BTC – 49.39%; ETH – 16.58%; BCH – 2.96%; LTC – 3.87%; and XRP – 27.2%.
The launch responds to the ‘recent surges of interest in these assets,’ according to Hany Rashwan (right), CEO at 21Shares which has seen a three-fold increase in demand across its suite of crypto ETPs since Q1 2021 based on aggregated new inflows across the range. The firm expects to add another two new crypto ETPs this quarter on top of new listing venues.
Both AXLM and AADA ETPs will offer exposure to cross-border transitions between any pair of currencies while Cardano will help running smart contracts using proof of stakes on a level previously not possible executing using investors’ banks or brokers.
The ETP structure is 100% physically collateralised, segregated and replicates 1:1 the tracking of both crypto assets. Both products have a base fee of 2.5% pa and will also be available on the Stuttgart and Dusseldorf MTFs.