The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

8AM Global
UK-based MPS specialist 8AM Global, in partnership with structured product specialist IDAD, has launched AQ Protected (AQP), a capital-protected investment solution combining the growth potential of an actively managed model portfolio with 100 per cent capital protection.

The product is designed for investors seeking equity-style returns coupled with cash-like risk and is attractive for a number of client segments saving to meet future liabilities. It includes those who are five to ten years from retirement seeking to protect accumulated gains, retirees managing sequencing risk in drawdown, and trustees or fiduciaries with capital preservation duties. For advised clients in drawdown, 8AM Global suggests using AQ Protected to ring-fence a five-year bucket for future withdrawals, creating a ladder of protected maturities that can be rolled forward annually. The five-year product offers investors full capital protection at maturity while providing exposure to potential returns of up to 40 per cent, with the capital secured by Goldman Sachs.

AQP is linked to 8AM Global's AQ Global 60 portfolio which maintains 60 per cent equity exposure through a diversified mix of global equity and bond funds. The product incorporates a daily volatility control mechanism managed by Goldman Sachs that adjusts portfolio exposure between 0 per cent and 150 per cent to target 10 per cent volatility, aiming to smooth returns during market turbulence.

Muzinich & Co
Muzinich & Co, a specialist in public and private corporate credit, has launched the Muzinich Global Credit Market Neutral Fund. The fund aims to deliver stable, risk-adjusted returns regardless of market direction, by capitalising on mispricing and dislocation opportunities in global credit, the firm said in a statement.

The Muzinich Global Credit Market Neutral Fund will be available for sale in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, France, Spain and Italy.

The firm has a history of running long/short strategies in the US and Europe which seek to capture upside and protect on the downside via a number of ‘books’. The Global Credit Market Neutral Fund is based on the arbitrage books of these strategies and will be managed by the same investment team, led by portfolio managers Jamie Cane and Greg Temo.

“The arbitrage books from our long/short strategies have achieved consistent return profiles in varied market conditions despite low beta, volatility and drawdowns,” Cane said. “By maintaining balanced long and short positions, the fund aims to isolate alpha and reduce exposure to broad market movements. With a disciplined focus on relative value, fundamental analysis and risk management, the fund aligns with our commitment in seeking to deliver stable performance and preserving capital through all phases of the market cycle.”

Invesco
US asset manager Invesco has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Europe that offers passive exposure to an all-world equity benchmark that adheres to Shariah investment principles.

The Invesco MSCI ACWI Islamic M-Series UCITS ETF is the firm’s second Shariah-compliant ETF, with the Invesco Dow Jones Islamic Global Developed Markets UCITS ETF, with $1.1 billion in assets under management. Investors in Invesco ETFs have the choice of Shariah-compliant exposure to global developed markets or a broader coverage that includes emerging markets, the firm said in a statement.

Like a number of investment managers, the firm has been launching a lot of ETFs, most recently with the launch of the Invesco EUR AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

Islamic finance has evolved since it was established five decades ago, but growth has only started to accelerate in the past four years as investors are able to access cost-efficient exposure through UCITS ETFs that offer Shariah compliance. As investors around the world have started to factor sustainable considerations in their investment solutions, the firm has seen a rising demand for Shariah-compliant investment products, which by their nature align with responsible, social and ethical values.

“Global equity ETFs captured the largest share of net inflows in 2025, and those global exposures that include emerging markets saw a steady surge in demand, particularly from individual investors seeking the broadest diversification through one simple product,” Chris Mellor, head of EMEA ETF equity product management, said. “However, the choice for Shariah investors has remained limited. Of the three suitable ETFs for global equity exposure, which includes our existing product, our latest launch is the only one that includes emerging markets, offering a simpler and more cost-efficient means for gaining all-world equity exposure.”

The new Invesco ETF aims to track the performance of the MSCI ACWI Islamic M-Series Index, which offers exposure to companies from developed and emerging market economies across the world. MSCI applies business involvement and financial ratio screens to ensure compliance with Shariah investment principles, with oversight provided by an independent Shariah committee.

A number of firms have been launching ETFs recently, for instance US-headquartered investment manager Franklin Templeton. See here.

Franklin Templeton
California-headquartered investment manager Franklin Templeton has said that its Franklin Lexington PE secondaries strategy has exceeded $3.5 billion in assets under management (AuM) in less than one year since its launch. This milestone underscores the growing demand among global wealth channel clients for institutional-quality private markets solutions that offer the potential for long-term growth and diversification, the firm said in a statement.

The Franklin Lexington PE secondaries strategy represents the firm’s first continuously offered strategy dedicated to secondary private equity investments and is available to investors globally. Initially launched to US investors in December 2024, the strategy is advised by Franklin Templeton and sub-advised by Lexington Partners, a specialist in the private equity secondary and co-investment markets. In March 2025, the strategy was extended to international investors in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and APAC, broadening access to private markets globally.

The Franklin Lexington PE secondaries strategy is designed to provide simplified access to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments acquired through secondary transactions and co-investments in new private equity transactions alongside leading sponsors, using Franklin Templeton’s global private markets wealth platform. Its structure aims to allow financial advisors and their clients to participate in investment opportunities traditionally reserved for large institutions.

“We are proud to partner with Franklin Templeton on this innovative strategy and broaden access to the secondary market for a wider range of investors,” said Wil Warren, partner and president of Lexington. “This milestone demonstrates the strong demand for high-quality private markets exposure and validates our industry-leading secondary platform that combines our market leadership and expertise with Franklin Templeton’s global distribution capabilities.”

“This reflects the strong momentum we are seeing across Europe and other international markets as wealth managers increase allocations to private markets through more accessible, evergreen structures,” Matthew Harrison, head of Americas (ex-US) Europe & UK, Franklin Templeton, continued.