Funds Europe reports that Schroders Capital has created a European ABF leadership role, appointing Bob Paterson as Head of European Asset-Based Finance and Significant Risk Transfer Investments within its Securitized Product and Asset-Based Finance business.
Paterson joins from Manulife CQS Investment Management and will report to Michelle Russell-Dowe, Co-head of PDCA and Global Head of SP&ABF.
Schroders Capital European ABF Role: Scope and Mandate
In the newly created position, Paterson will lead origination and execution of European, UK and Australian ABF as well as Significant Risk Transfer transactions. He will also oversee European and UK Asset-Backed Securities activity, according to Funds Europe.
Paterson brings more than 25 years of experience across the UK, Europe and the US, with a background in origination, distribution and capital raising across complex structured credit strategies, Portfolio Adviser reported.
At Manulife CQS, he played a central part in building the firm’s ABF platform and supporting the growth of its SRT franchise, according to Alternative Credit Investor.
JPMAM Completes $1.6bn Active ETF Migration from SICAV
Separately, J.P. Morgan Asset Management completed a UCITS merger that converted the JPMorgan Funds – Global Research Enhanced Index Equity Paris Aligned Fund into a new exchange-traded fund: the JPMorgan ETFs (Ireland) ICAV – All Country Research Enhanced Index Equity Paris Aligned Active UCITS ETF, trading under the ticker JPAW.
The fund carried $1.6bn in assets at the time of the merger. The transaction was reported by ETF Express.
JPAW seeks long-term returns above its benchmark while aligning with Paris Agreement objectives through an enhanced index approach designed to maintain index-like characteristics. The structure may also offer lower fees for some investors, ETF Express reported.
Piera Elisa Grassi, Head of Global and International REI at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, described the underlying strategy as ‘benchmark-aware and diversified, with security selection driven by bottom-up research and implemented within disciplined risk parameters.’
David Batchelor, analyst at QuotedData, said the merger illustrates that part of the active ETF story is about asset migration rather than new launches, describing the active ETF market as undergoing a structural change in how active funds are delivered. His analysis is published by QuotedData.
The two announcements arrive as asset managers across Europe press ahead with both personnel buildout in private credit and product restructuring in listed vehicles. Whether further SICAV-to-ETF conversions follow the JPMAM template will depend in part on how regulators and investors respond to the migration model over the coming months.
