Digital content and access to data from all over the world has become more important than ever during COVID times. This trend can be seen in the banking industry as digital account openings become more common. In the world of structured products, most issuers have greater automation is on their innovation roadmaps. Bank Julius Baer has assigned significant resources over the past years to advance its digital platforms. Our aim is to generate new ideas, improve the trading of standard flow structured products (such as barrier reverse convertibles) and to support the management of our large book of actively managed certificates (AMCs).

Platform for actively managed certificates

AMCs are popular among asset managers as they make managing investment strategies on behalf of multiple clients more efficient. Different clients with custody at various banks may invest into a single vehicle, so reducing the administrative burden of new account openings – which take time. Further, the performance of the portfolio can be transparently presented and the asset manager generates a track record for her/his investment strategy.

In cooperation with an external provider, Bank Julius Baer has developed a tool for managing AMCs, called EPIC. Intermediaries enjoy web-based access to their portfolios from a personal computer, laptop or tablet. Besides general information on the AMC (such as assets under management, live prices etc.) and an overview of the portfolio, the asset manager can enter new trading orders, adjust and download portfolio reports, and view historical information such as accrued fees, historical rebalancings or any corporate actions on the underlying securities (coupon payments, dividends, stock splits etc.).

Since August 2020, when the first version of EPIC was officially launched, further features have been developed and the offering for intermediaries has been enhanced. EPIC now covers a wide variety of asset classes, which may all be combined in a single AMC: namely equities, bonds, ETFs, funds and structured products. EPIC users remain responsible for compliance with all applicable cross-border regulations, particularly especially if intermediaries access EPIC and manage the AMC from somewhere other than the primary place of business.

New features

Our latest addition is the completely enabled FX hedge possibility. Intermediaries have an overview of the exposure in each currency of the underlying securities and can intuitively define the target exposure per currency. Depending on the type of the product, the target exposure may be defined in terms of percentage of the portfolio value or in absolute value. The performance of the portfolio may be re-hedged at the advisor’s discretion. This feature enables the asset manager to limit foreign exchange risks while also being able to reduce or remove the FX hedge opportunistically to profit from expected currency fluctuations.

The fully-fledged customisable performance report has been redesigned to match Julius Baer’s identity. Every single table and chart in the report may be adjusted to suit the asset manager’s needs. The intermediary further benefits from convenient enhancements such as the easily editable free text field, which may be used for a regular performance commentary, or adding the firm’s logo. The asset manager can also save report templates, apply them to one or more AMCs and share them with her/his colleagues.

Get in touch with us

We have been able to transfer the majority of Julius Baer issued AMCs from manual management to EPIC, increasing the efficiency and comfort for our clients. Nevertheless, internal teams and the platform provider are constantly working on further developments while also reflecting on valuable client feedback.

The structured products team with offices in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano is pleased to present you EPIC in a live demonstration, discuss the possibility of launching your own AMC and answer any questions. For more information, please contact us at +41 58 888 81 81 or pricing.derivatives@juliusbaer.com. Stay tuned for further EPIC developments coming over the course of this year.

Contáctenos