Clearstream enables direct investor access to ETFs through Vestima

13.01.2014
  • PIMCO Covered Bond Source UCITS ETF is the first actively managed ETF available with daily fixing at ‘net asset value’ (NAV) on Vestima
  • Efficiency gains: Investors now able to buy and sell shares in this ETF the same way as mutual funds
  • ETF also traded on Deutsche Börse as of 13 January 2014
  • Further milestone in Clearstream’s efficiency agenda for ETF issuance and processing

Clearstream - a Deutsche Börse Group company - offers investors for the first time direct access to an actively managed PIMCO Source exchange-traded fund (ETF) through Vestima, the largest global fund processing platform. The PIMCO Covered Bond Source UCITS ETF is listed on Deutsche Börse as of 13 January 2014 and is the first ETF directly available on Vestima at end-of-day net asset value (NAV), thus providing additional access to this fund. Investors are now able to directly buy and sell shares in this ETF through Vestima in the same way as for a mutual fund, thereby benefiting from Vestima’s proven efficiencies.

ETFs continue to enjoy growing popularity as investors increasingly value and benefit from unique features of these instruments.

Howard Chan, Vice President and Product Manager for PIMCO’s ETF products in EMEA commented: 'ETFs are generally recognised as a highly attractive instrument for both retail and institutional investors. The availability on Vestima extends access to this ETF to a larger and new group of investors. Vestima reduces the execution complexities for those investors who utilize both ETFs and mutual funds in their investment portfolios.'

Philippe Seyll, Member of the Executive Board of Clearstream and Head of Investment Funds Services, said: 'We are pleased to introduce the first actively managed covered bond ETF, managed by PIMCO, onto our Vestima platform, which currently gives access to more than 125,000 mutual funds. Our objective is to provide investors with a standardised process for all their fund transactions – from mutual funds to ETFs and hedge funds – by using the same platform.'

Clearstream is currently working with the broader community of ETF promoters to enable direct access to a broader range of ETFs, thereby replicating the model of the PIMCO Source ETF launch.

The improved access to ETFs on Vestima is part of Clearstream’s wider efficiency agenda for ETF issuance and processing. The recent announcement of the collaboration with Capita Asset Services to make cross-border transactions for Irish ETFs more secure and streamlined in the German market constituted another key milestone.

About Clearstream

Clearstream is a Deutsche Börse Group company and one of the leading providers of investment fund services globally. It has more than 125,000 investment funds on its Vestima fund processing platform and processes more than 8 million fund settlement instructions every year. The company is also the largest contributor to the standardisation of fund processing worldwide. The new direct Vestima access to ETFs complements Clearstream’s existing ETF settlement and safekeeping solutions. Clearstream already fully supports the settlement and safekeeping of ETFs across its platform and via 53 domestic links. In addition, Clearstream facilitates exchange trading of nearly 4,000 funds of which just over a 1,000 are ETFs. Using Vestima as the access point, investors from Europe, America and Asia can already buy and sell fund units on the stock exchange as easily as equities.

Clearstream provides the post-trade infrastructure for the Eurobond market and services for securities from 53 domestic markets worldwide. Clearstream’s customers comprise approximately 2,500 financial institutions in more than 110 countries. Its services include the issuance, settlement and custody of securities, as well as investment fund services and global securities financing. With more than EUR 12 trillion in assets under custody, Clearstream is one of the world’s largest settlement and custody firms for domestic and international securities.

Further information: www.clearstream.com

Media contact Clearstream

Susanne Zorn, +352-243-32270
susanne.zorn@clearstream.com

About PIMCO

With more than USD 627 billion (EUR 482 billion, GBP 412 billion) of assets managed or serviced out of Europe and more than USD 1.97 trillion of client assets worldwide (EUR 1.51 trillion, GBP 1.29 trillion) , including USD 1.60 trillion (EUR 1.23 trillion, GBP 1.05 trillion) in third party client assets, PIMCO is one of the world's leading investment management companies.

Founded in 1971 with offices in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, PIMCO offers a wide range of innovative solutions to help millions of investors worldwide meet their needs. Our goal is to provide attractive returns while maintaining a strong culture of risk management and long-term discipline.

PIMCO Source ETFs feature a range of actively managed and ‘Smart Passive’ index strategies, providing investors efficient exposure to a variety of sectors, geographical regions and investment objectives.