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

BlackRock
New York-headquartered asset manager BlackRock has launched two active buffer exchange-traded funds (ETF), marking the next step in making outcome-orientated investment strategies accessible to a wider range of investors. These funds provide exposure to the S&P 500 Index while employing options to deliver targeted downside protection, in exchange for a cap on potential upside, the firm said in a statement.

The introduction of buffer ETFs reflects a growing demand for strategies that help investors manage macroeconomic uncertainty with more predictable outcomes. According to the BlackRock Investment Institute, capital preservation in volatile markets requires tactical approaches that actively mitigate downside risks. As global demographics shift and investors face new market challenges, they seek tools which balance participation in equity markets with protection against losses.

The firm believes that outcome ETFs provide this balance by offering exposure to growth assets while embedding buffers that can reduce the impact of market downturns, helping investors stay invested during periods of heightened volatility rather than exiting markets prematurely.

“Outcome ETFs are powerful tools in today’s markets, offering clarity and confidence in how investors can pursue their goals. By expanding access to these strategies in Europe, we’re helping investors tackle the dual challenge of seeking growth and managing risk in an increasingly unpredictable world,” Manuela Sperandeo, co-head of iShares Europe at BlackRock, said.

Nuveen
Nuveen, a Chicago-headquartered asset manager with $1.3 trillion in assets under management, has created the Global Infrastructure Investment Platform. The platform, which ranks among the top 20 infrastructure managers by AuM, brings together many specialised teams under unified leadership in order to capitalise on investor demand for infrastructure assets.

Reflecting the firm’s core areas of conviction, Nuveen said its investment capabilities will now be organised into six distinct asset class pillars. In addition to the new Global Infrastructure Investment Platform, the five other asset class pillars include: a Global Real Estate Platform; a Global Natural Capital Platform; a Global Private Capital Platform; a Global Fixed Income Platform; and a Global Equities Platform. 

The new platform follows decades of organic growth and strategic acquisitions in alternative investing, with $340 billion in assets under management allocated across real estate, natural capital, infrastructure, private capital, and specialisations in leveraged finance and private placements.

The firm said that global infrastructure investment needs are estimated at $94 trillion through 2040, driven by energy transition requirements, digital transformation, and ageing infrastructure replacement across developed markets. Nuveen said that its new platform enables it to capture this opportunity through expertise spanning sustainable real estate financing, clean energy development, infrastructure credit, and digital infrastructure equity investments.

Jessica Bailey, who previously served as CEO of Nuveen Green Capital, has been appointed as head of global infrastructure, a newly-created role which involves responsibility for scaling the platform. Bailey will report to Saira Malik, Nuveen's chief investment officer.

Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered has announced that it is launching its Signature CIO Islamic Funds range, initially in Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The launch follows the UK-listed bank saying that it has raised more than $3 billion in its Signature CIO Funds assets under management within three years. 

The Islamic funds will be managed by Aditum Investment Management and advised by Standard Chartered on asset allocation, and a quantitative manager for global Islamic equities. Aditum Investment Management will also manage the Sukuk allocation. (Sukuk are forms of bond that adhere to Shariah law’s prohibition on charging interest.)

The CIO funds as a whole, give clients access to the lender’s chief investment office house views. The funds were launched in 2022. Investors gain access to strategies through a globally-diversified multi-asset funds and exchange-traded funds portfolio, which includes global equities, global bonds, commodities, liquid alternatives, and cash.

The funds are available to Standard Chartered’s wealth and retail banking clients across 12 global markets.

Amundi Asset Management is acting as the suite of four funds (Conservative, Income, Balanced, and Growth). Standard Chartered said the funds are seeing between an average of 5.6 per cent to 15.7 per cent compound average growth rates since inception.