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

BNY Investments
New York headquartered BNY Investments, part of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a global financial services company, has launched the BNY Adaptive Risk Overlay Fund, available to UK and European investors.

The BNY Adaptive Risk Overlay Fund is managed by BNY Investments Newton, a specialist multi-asset and equity asset manager and a subsidiary of BNY Investments.

The fund, which aims to achieve positive returns during periods of global equity market volatility, also aims to provide investors with a tail-risk hedging solution in a pooled vehicle – an innovative proposition within the UCITS framework. It is intended to serve as a diversifying overlay, complementing an investor’s core holdings in their portfolio, the firm said in a statement.

The fund will be managed by portfolio manager Lars Middleton, who will draw on Newton’s multi-asset expertise and capabilities developed over three decades of managing both tactical and systematic hedging solutions. The launch complements Newton’s collaboration with Bank of America in developing the Newton Adaptive Risk Overlay Index, a custom investable index.

“We are increasingly hearing demand for a liquid tail-hedging solution that helps to better manage portfolio risk during times of increased uncertainty,” Gerald Rehn, head of EMEA distribution at BNY Investments, said. “With this fund, clients can access daily liquidity and will benefit from Newton’s longstanding track record of over two decades in managing absolute return funds through volatile market periods.”

The fund is registered for sale in several European jurisdictions including the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and The Netherlands.

FNZ, Wesleyan
UK financial services mutual Wesleyan has partnered with FNZ to make its Smoothed With Profits Fund available on more independent platforms that use FNZ’s technology.

More advisors can incorporate the fund into portfolios as a result of the agreement with FNZ, a business that works with more than 650 financial institutions and 12,000 wealth management firms.

The Wesleyan fund is designed to sit on independent advisor platforms, offering capabilities such as daily trading and pricing. As a result of the partnership, Wesleyan, will be able to expand across the UK platform market.

Smoothed funds, which hold a range of different investments, are designed to reduce the worry of investing by smoothing out some of the ups and downs of the investment markets, hence their name.

A recent study from Wesleyan and the lang cat, a consultancy, found that advisors use smoothed funds to help clients navigate complex and fast-moving market conditions. Some 65 per cent of advisors said such funds help to manage client concerns over risk and volatility.

Wesleyan – a mutual founded in Birmingham in 1841 – had a total of £7.6 billion ($10.3 billion) in AuM as at the end of last year. It provides access to its flagship With Profits Growth Fund via the intermediary advice sector.