Fidelity to Launch Semi-Transparent ETF in Europe, State Street and Blackstone to Partner on CLO ETF, and Tabula Gold ETC Sees $1bn Redemptions.

Fidelity International is set to launch a semi-transparent ETF in Europe, following approval from the Central Bank of Ireland. The ETF will have full portfolio holdings disclosed daily to authorized participants under a non-disclosure agreement, with a three-month lag for public release. State Street and Blackstone are partnering to launch a CLO ETF, extending their relationship and entering the competitive European CLO ETF market. Tabula Investment Management's gold ETC has seen $1bn in redemptions since late July.

Fidelity International is set to debut a semi-transparent ETF in Europe following approval from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). This marks the first time an asset manager takes advantage of the Irish regulator's recent softening on portfolio disclosures. The ETF will have full portfolio holdings disclosed daily to authorized participants under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), with a three-month lag for public release [1].

Fidelity Investments, the $1trn group’s US arm, has employed the semi-transparent model since 2020 through a proprietary opaque structure now underpinning 18 ETFs with $12.4bn in assets under management (AUM). Regulators across Europe have been relaxing their portfolio transparency stances, with the Autorité des Marchés financiers (AMF) and the Luxembourg regulator leading the way before the CBI in April [1].

State Street Investment Management is partnering with Blackstone to launch a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) ETF in Europe. The State Street Blackstone Euro AAA CLO UCITS ETF is set to launch later this year, a source familiar with the matter told ETF Stream. The fund will be domiciled in Ireland and is part of State Street’s push into third-party partnerships with active managers, particularly in fixed income [2].

The move is part of State Street’s strategy to enter the competitive European CLO ETF market, where fee competition has intensified following launches by BlackRock, Invesco, and Janus Henderson. Blackstone brings European CLO experience to the partnership after launching an investment trust – the Blackstone Loan Financing (BGLF) - containing European and US CLOs in 2014 [2].

Tabula Investment Management’s gold exchange-traded commodity (ETC), the SMO Physical Gold ETC (BARS), has seen assets collapse from $1.1bn to just $5.6m since late July amid abrupt investor redemptions. The ETC reached $1.4bn AUM in April but is now virtually empty, an idiosyncratic downturn given rival gold ETCs attracted positive inflows over the same period [1].

References:

[1] https://www.etfstream.com/articles/etf-wrap-fidelity-lines-up-semi-transparent-etf
[2] https://www.etfstream.com/articles/state-street-and-blackstone-partner-on-clo-etf-in-europe