San Francisco-headquartered Bank of the West Wealth Management, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, has announced the launch of the ‘Bank of the West ETF portfolios’, a suite of ETF managed portfolios.

Bank of the West’s wealth management division has introduced a suite of proprietary ETF portfolios. (Photo © Ken Teegardin)

The portfolios incorporate ETFs selected by the group’s investment advisory and management team to provide exposure to a global set of investment opportunities.

The ETF portfolios mark a major enhancement to its open architecture Investment Advisory Solutions (IAS) platform. Previously, these portfolios were only available to the firm’s Trust Services clients.

According to John Morris, head of client solutions for Bank of the West’s Wealth Management Group, the bank’s asset allocation model drives the ETF portfolios and is informed with a global perspective gained through the firm’s relationship to its parent BNP Paribas, one of the world’s largest banks.

“Now more than ever, investing requires a global perspective. Given that our parent BNP Paribas has a presence in more than 80 countries, we’re uniquely positioned to leverage that insight and deliver on that mandate,” said Morris.

“At the same time, many investors are looking for more choice and investing options that can re-position as the markets change. These proprietary ETF portfolios will extrapolate meaningful information from around the globe and use that information to align the portfolios with the current market environment,” he added.

The portfolios provide clients with a disciplined process that includes a range of risk tolerance-defined investment objectives, while also:

• Using proprietary asset allocation strategies
• Incorporating tactical asset allocation, which is the ability to make small adjustments over time in the face of a changing investment environment
• Including taxable and tax-efficient strategies, with the choice of California or national municipal bond exposure
• Offering 100% equity or fixed income options for clients who seek exposure to only one or the other asset class

Morris said that investors were attracted to ETFs because they can combine tax efficiency and low expenses.