The acquisition of CS ETF business, which includes 59 ETFs with CHF16bn ($17.47bn) in assets under management across equities, fixed income and gold as of 30 November 2012, will boost its presence in Switzerland.
The acquired business has been absorbed by BlackRock’s ETF platform iShares, with all of the funds now trading under the iShares brand name.
Besides bolstering BlackRock’s ETF presence in Switzerland, the acquisition will also strengthen its presence in Ireland and Luxembourg.
The integrated business manages a liquid suite of physically replicating funds that invest in Swiss indexes, inlcuing the Swiss benchmark index SMI, Swiss Domestic Government Bonds Indices (SBI) as well as ETFs on physical gold.
iShares Switzerland head Christian Gast said, "This acquisition means that we can better serve Swiss clients and provide the efficient, innovative and transparent products that today’s investors demand."
"Investors will also be able to leverage the expertise of our investment strategists and capital markets team, who are focused on supporting them to make informed decisions about ETFs," Gast commented.
As of 30 September 2012, BlackRock had $3.7trn in assets under management (AUM) globally and offers investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients.
Employing approximately 48,400 people, Credit Suisse operates in over 50 countries across the globe and is headquartered in Zurich.
