Natixis Global Asset Management has acquired a majority stake in Ossiam, the asset management start-up, propelling the former into the exchange-traded fund space.

Ossiam, based in Paris, will focus on ETFs, once the relevant agreement is obtained from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

As previously reported, Ossiam is set to launch 50 ETFs in early 2011 in Europe. These products will be available to clients either through French funds, a Luxembourg SICAV structure or via dedicated funds tracking customised indices tailored for specific institutional client needs.

"In Europe, the ETF market is rapidly growing; even if it is still lagging behind the US market, the gap is decreasing. We aim at developing specialty ETFs as intelligent solutions for clients rather than plain-vanilla products that replicate market-cap weighted indices… It [the ETF strategy] is also a significant diversification of Natixis Global Asset Management’s successful multi-boutique structure," said Pierre Servant, chief executive of NGAM.

Ossiam was established in 2009 to develop quantitative, research-driven, UCITS III-compliant collective investment schemes. The executive team at Ossiam includes Bruno Poulin, chief executive, and Antoine Moreau, chief investment officer.