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

LGT Capital Funds
LGT Capital Partners has held the final close of Crown Co-investment Opportunities III, which is the firm’s third dedicated co-investment fund, at $2.0 billion – conveniently beating its initial $1.5 billion target.

The investment strategy focuses on buyouts in North America, Europe and opportunistically Asia-Pacific. More than 60 institutions, including pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and family offices, invest in the fund. They come from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Middle East, LGT Capital Partners said in a statement. 

“Co-investments have increasingly become a component of diversified private market portfolios,” Wolfgang Müller, a partner at LGT Capital Partners, said. 

Amundi
French asset manager Amundi has launched its first ESG ETF on Italian blue chips, responding to investors' shift towards responsible investing.

The Amundi FTSE MIB UCITS ETF recently became the Amundi Italy MIB ESG – UCITS ETF DR. It is now the first ETF tracking the newly-created MIB ESG index, developed by Euronext, Amundi said in a statement.

The index tracked by the ETF offers exposure to the 40 main Italian stocks which demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices among the 60 most liquid Italian companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, the firm added.

It applies norm-based exclusion filters in accordance with the United Nation Global Compact principles and a negative screening allows it to exclude companies involved in controversial business practices, Amundi, which has €2 trillion ($2.03 trillion) assets under management, explained. The ETF also aims to deliver an improved weighted carbon intensity compared with its investable universe.

Welcoming the move, Arnaud Llinas, head of ETF, indexing and smart beta at Amundi, said: “Responsible investing is at the heart of Amundi’s ETF product development strategy; this is why we are delighted to partner again with Euronext and accompany investors in the reorientation of capital towards sustainable portfolios."

"We believe that issuing ESG equivalent of national blue chip indices is also instrumental to help democratise ESG investing," he added.

Fabrizio Testa, CEO, Borsa Italiana, part of Euronext Group, said: “Following the launch of the MIB ESG last October, Euronext is glad that Amundi has decided to launch the Amundi Italy MIB ESG – UCITS ETF DR."

"This is further evidence of a strong market appetite for solutions that enable the integration of ESG considerations into core investment portfolios. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our clients in developing products supporting this ESG transition, in line with our ‘Fit for 1.5°’ commitment," he stressed.

The ETF is classified under article 8 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and it is offered with charges of 0.18 per cent, Amundi added. The initiative is part of the Societal Project of the Crédit Agricole Group and its commitment to the climate.