The latest in funds and investments in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Tabula Investment Management
Tabula Investment Management, which provides European fixed income exchange traded funds, has launched an ETF giving exposure to sub-investment grade corporate credit with limited exposure to changes in interest rates. 

The new offering is called the Tabula European iTraxx Crossover Credit UCITS ETF. It directly replicates performance of credit default swaps, in this case high-yield credits, via positions in the European iTraxx Crossover index. (Credit default swaps give users the ability to buy a form of insurance against the risk of a debt issuer defaulting for which the sellers earn a fee.)

The firm said that - unlike traditional high yield bond funds which have to handle the risk of illiquidity in individual bond holdings - trading CDS index exposure concentrates positions in one highly liquid contract that tends to attract increased turnover in volatile markets. 

“A common investor concern surrounds owning high yield bonds in a passive vehicle during times of market stress. A lack of liquidity in individual bonds can become a challenge. Spreads can widen significantly, and individual bonds can see varying levels of investor demand. This is exactly the time when investors want to adjust their positions”, Tabula chief executive, Michael John Lytle, said.

The Tabula European iTraxx Crossover Credit UCITS ETF currently yields approximately 3.99 per cent.

Hilbert Investment Solutions
Hilbert Investment Solutions has launched two structured products with different risk profiles designed for investors seeking quarterly returns.

The first product is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index of UK blue-chip stocks and aims to provide 2.05 per cent per quarter while the second is linked to the performance of both the FTSE 100 and EUROSTOXX 50 indices of European equities and aims to provide 2.33 per cent per quarter.

UK Conditional Quarterly Autocall Issue 4 and Conditional Quarterly Autocall Issue 13, as they are known, both have 10-year investment terms and are available through either direct investment, an individual savings account or via a client’s self-invested personal pension.

Hilbert was created in 2012 by former Old Mutual head of structured products Steve Lamarque to specialise in cross-asset, structured solutions covering equities, rates and commodities.