The launch was initially slated for October last year and Portfolio Adviser understands that the hold-up was not to do with the regulator but problems had by its custodian, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH).
A source familiar with the situation said: “I am not clear how much BBH are used in Europe as a custodian, but I suspect they are relatively inexperienced in the ETF business over here. If that is the case, they would have had to set up systems to trade and hold the ETFs’ underlying securities in an efficient manner.”
The launch is a match of those ETFs listed in Dublin in May and are the Vanguard FTSE 100, S&P 500, FTSE All-World, FTSE Emerging Markets and UK Government Bond ETFs.
