Morgan Stanley is launching FXGateway, a new multi-manager platform aimed at providing institutional investors access to select currency managers. In turn, the platform seeks to provide currency managers with a more diversified investor base.

With Morgan Stanley acting as FX prime broker and distributor for the platform, FX Gateway is able to leverage the firm’s expertise in the FX business and its deep distribution channels.

“Our institutional clients are increasingly attracted to the FX Markets as an asset class and are therefore looking for ways to access managers with demonstrated currency investment expertise,” said Martine Bond, Managing Director & COO of FX and Emerging Markets at Morgan Stanley. “We are excited with FX Gateway as an investment vehicle which can help make the investment process more efficient for investors. This is another example of Morgan Stanley’s commitment to the FX business,” she added.

FX Gateway employs strict selection criteria, a standardized due diligence process and ongoing monitoring for currency managers. This is to ensure all currency managers on the platform meet and maintain the required standards. Mercer Investment Consulting acts as the program advisor and fiduciary for the platform.

“Mercer is pleased to be associated with Morgan Stanley in the development of the FX Gateway Platform,” said Jeff Schutes, Mercer’s US investment consulting leader. “This provides an efficient and robust means to leverage both Mercer’s deep knowledge of currency managers and Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage and distribution capabilities in FX.”

Investors in FX Gateway will be able to choose from a range of products and be able to benefit from daily transparency on manager performance and daily liquidity. The platform has appointed SS&C Technologies, Inc. as the administrator to ensure independence of net asset value calculations and to leverage their technology expertise to maximise operational efficiency. 

For this initial phase, FX Gateway is expected to have between ten to fifteen managers on the platform. C-View and The Cambridge Strategy are the first two managers and a further seven are expected to be included by mid-October.

“We are delighted to be amongst the initial group of managers selected at launch of the FX Gateway product,” said Paul Chappell, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at C-View. “In the current environment which is replete with opportunity in currency as an asset class, it allows a much wider range of investors access to a number of carefully selected managers.”

AllianceBernstein is another currency manager which is expected to go live in the coming weeks. Also, Parker Global Strategies will be both an initial investor and an FX Gateway product partner advising client portfolios.