The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

BlackRock
New York-headquartered asset manager BlackRock has launched the iShares $ EM Bond Active UCITS ETF (ISOV), an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that provides investors with access to US dollar-denominated emerging market debt (EMD). The fund is designed to deliver consistent and durable outcomes across market cycles, combining active security selection with the daily liquidity and transparency of the ETF wrapper.

The launch of ISOV will expand iShares’ European-listed active ETF range, which now stands at $8.6 billion in assets under management. The fund is listed on Euronext Amsterdam with a TER of 0.45 per cent.

The firm highlighted how emerging market debt represents one of the most diverse potential opportunity sets in fixed income. EMD remains resilient with yields at multi-decade highs, US interest rates are nearing their peak, and a weaker dollar is helping to improve financing conditions for many emerging market issuers. At the same time, EMD remains complex and less liquid than many developed market bond sectors, reinforcing the value of active management for selectivity, managing risk and capturing income.

ISOV, which is built on BlackRock’s emerging market debt platform, is designed to deliver alpha across market environments by harnessing multiple sources of return. The portfolio combines bottom-up security selection, relative value positioning and macro insights, with a robust portfolio construction framework that seeks to balance income generation with risk control.

“Emerging market debt is an asset class where consistency matters,” said Michel Aubenas, head of Emerging Market Debt at BlackRock.“Yields are at historically attractive levels, but returns are unlikely to come from a single theme or trade. A disciplined, actively managed approach is essential to navigate the complexity of the asset class and compound returns over time.”

ISOV, which is managed by Michel Aubenas, Ana-Sofia Monck and Kirill Veretinskii, is supported by BlackRock’s Global Emerging Market Debt team.

“Our research shows that many European investors remain under-allocated to emerging market debt,” said Vasiliki Pachatouridi, head of iShares Fixed Income Product Strategy EMEA. “This under-allocation can often be attributed to concerns around complexity and volatility. Now ISOV provides a simple and transparent way to access the opportunity by combining active management with the flexibility, transparency and liquidity of the ETF structure.”

Illuminate Financial
Illuminate Financial, a specialist venture capital firm focusing on technology for financial services, has raised $135 million for its Early Growth Fund from investors including BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Börse, HSBC, Jefferies, RBC, S&P Global, and TD Securities. 

The fund targets Series B+ Enterprise AI and fintech companies. This is Illuminate's fourth fund and the first to target the Series B+ stage.

Founded by Mark Beeston in 2014, the firm operates across London, New York, and Singapore, led alongside Partners Alexander Ross, Rezso Szabo, Rachel Townend, and Luca Zorzino. Illuminate has raised $500 million across four funds, invested in 55 companies, and completed 14 successful exits. 

Four investments have already been made: Pliant, a Berlin-based corporate card and spend management platform; TransFICC, the specialist provider of low-latency connectivity for fixed income and derivatives markets; Zocks, an AI platform for financial advisors; and Endowus, an Asia-based independent wealth advisory platform with client assets exceeding $10 billion.

Singlife
Singapore’s Singlife has revamped dollarDEX – its digital-first investment platform, built for self-directed investors.

The new dollarDEX platform delivers simplified account opening, fund discovery and streamlined trading. Its fund centre solutions help customers manage cash, generate income and invest for long-term growth. Additional enhancements will be rolled out progressively, including an interest-bearing cash account and an integrated insurance-investment portfolio view.

The firm said that DollarDEX was one of Singapore’s first fintech platforms, providing online investing in funds as early as 1999.

SC Lowy, Shinhan Capital 
SC Lowy, an asset manager, and Shinhan Capital, a specialized credit finance company and subsidiary of the Shinhan Financial Group, have launched the Shinhan SC Lowy No 1 Private Debt Fund, a local currency Korean won-denominated fund targeting mid-yield opportunities across South Korea’s credit landscape.

The fund, launched in March, is designed to capitalise on increasing dislocation in South Korea’s lending markets, where tighter bank financing and interest rate volatility have created a growing pool of companies facing short-term liquidity constraints despite strong underlying fundamentals.

The strategy combines Shinhan Capital’s origination network with SC Lowy’s global credit investing capabilities. Shinhan, which was established in 1991, is headquartered in Seoul. Founded in 2009, SC Lowy, which has $1.5 billion in assets under management, specialises in private credit across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.