The partnership complements another sponsorship of a professorship at the University of Basel for financial technology. Credit Suisse's asset management can generate sustainable value for investors with close ties to science like these.
The theme funds are actively managed, but passive index products are increasingly drawing in money. When will Credit Suisse get back into the market for exchange-traded funds?
We already manage a index fund business which grew by an average 5 billion francs in each of the last three years. ETFs will become strategically even more important because they are well-suited for distribution through digital channels and robo advisers. Providers which ignore this may maneuver themselves into obsoletion.
«We won't offer crypto investments»
Against this backdrop, we’ll revisit ETFs at some point in the future.
Crypto investments are another much-hyped topic. The first Swiss fund recently won regulatory approval, and the world’s first crypto index products are now traded on the Swiss stock exchange. When will Credit Suisse’s asset management division enter the ring?
We won’t offer any crypto investments in the foreseeable future. We are however evaluating distributed ledger technology in various areas of asset management.
Can you explain in more detail?
I believe securities will eventually be tokenized. The Swiss stock exchange SIX is already working on such a project. This is an opportunity for asset managers which for example want to make property or real estate investments more accessible and globally tradable.
«Asset managers have to ensure they have digital solutions»
This opens them up to new client segments, which in turn provides us with new distribution opportunities. The democratization and opening of closed networks will be the primary and most important consequence of distributed ledger technology for asset management, in my opinion.
So you view digitization as an opportunity for your profession.
We differentiate: with digitization comes more transparency on performance and costs – which is favorable for investors. Digital solutions also enable clients to search for the best funds and add them to their portfolio via smartphone. Asset managers have to ensure they are present of these platforms. If not, they risk being sidelined.
How do you approach this?
We need first-class products and be able to offer them on these platforms. We’re working consistently towards this. Digitization will accentuate consolidation in the funds industry – that is absolutely certain.
