UniCredit has announced the launch of its first onemarkets exchange traded funds on Borsa Italiana’s ETFplus platform and Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Xetra.
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Article created by the editorial staff of ETFWorld.co.uk
Andrea Orcel Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit
The move brings to 84 the total number of listings on ETFplus since the start of 2026, and marks the entry of Italy’s second-largest bank by assets into a market segment where, until today, it was the only major Italian credit institution entirely absent.
The official opening ceremony took place at Borsa Italiana with the traditional Ring the Bell event organised by Euronext.
The range: seven ETFs on MSCI Universal indexes
The initial offering comprises seven instruments — four equity and three bond — developed in collaboration with delegated manager BNP Paribas Asset Management on MSCI Universal indexes. All funds are domiciled in Luxembourg under the SICAV OneMarkets Lux. The reference indexes are provided by MSCI Limited, acting as Benchmark Administrator under the European Benchmarks Regulation (BMR).
Equity funds
- OneMarkets MSCI World Universal UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281687825 | TER: 0.25% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
Tracks the MSCI World Universal Net EUR Index (Bloomberg: NE712650), denominated in euros. The index is built from the MSCI World — large and mid caps across developed global markets — with ESG integration that overweights companies with solid or improving sustainability profiles. At least 80% of assets must be invested in index components; exposure to securities outside the benchmark is capped at 10%. Derivatives (index futures, currency swaps) are permitted for hedging and efficient portfolio management. Semi-annual rebalancing.
- OneMarkets MSCI USA Universal UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281687668 | TER: 0.25% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
Tracks the MSCI USA Universal Net EUR Index (Bloomberg: NE712648), denominated in euros. Covers US large and mid caps with an ESG filter derived from the MSCI USA with minimal exclusions. The structure mirrors the global fund: minimum 80% invested in benchmark components, derivatives permitted for hedging. Securities lending allowed up to 50% of assets. Semi-annual rebalancing.
- OneMarkets MSCI Europe Universal UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281687312 | TER: 0.25% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
Tracks the MSCI Europe Universal Net EUR Index (Bloomberg: MXEUEUNE), denominated in euros. Measures the performance of European large and mid cap equities with integrated ESG criteria, derived from the MSCI Europe. Same structure as the other physical funds: minimum 80% in benchmark components, with the ability to switch between full and optimised replication. Semi-annual rebalancing.
- OneMarkets MSCI Emerging Markets Universal UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281688120 | TER: 0.25% | Replication: synthetic (swap-based)
Tracks the MSCI EM Universal Net EUR Index (Bloomberg: NE712649), denominated in euros. Unlike the other equity funds, this one uses synthetic replication: benchmark exposure is achieved through OTC swaps with approved counterparties, not by directly purchasing the underlying securities. Total return swap transactions can reach a maximum of 230% of net assets (estimated value: 200%). The fund does not engage in securities lending or repo transactions. The choice of synthetic replication reflects the well-known operational challenges of direct access to local markets for certain components of the emerging market universe.
Bond funds
- OneMarkets MSCI Euro Government Bond UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281688633 | TER: 0.20% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
Tracks the MSCI Eurozone Government Bond Index (Bloomberg: MFGORT), a Total Return index measuring the performance of investment grade, euro-denominated government bonds with maturities of more than one year, issued by developed eurozone countries. To be eligible, bonds must have a minimum outstanding nominal amount of €2 billion and a residual maturity of at least one year (18 months for new inclusions). This fund does not incorporate ESG criteria. Permitted derivatives: interest rate futures. Monthly rebalancing.
- OneMarkets MSCI Euro Government Bond 1M–1Y UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281688476 | TER: 0.15% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
At a TER of 0.15%, this is the lowest-cost fund in the range. Tracks the MSCI Eurozone 1M–1Y Select Government Bond Index (Bloomberg: MF755433), a Total Return index selecting investment grade, euro-denominated government bonds with short-term maturities of between one month and one year. The universe is the same as the broader government bond fund, but restricted to the very short end of the curve. Minimum outstanding nominal amount of €2 billion. Monthly rebalancing. The fund is positioned as a cash management tool and for investors seeking low-risk exposure to the short end of the eurozone sovereign yield curve.
- OneMarkets MSCI Euro IG Universal Corporate Bond UCITS ETF ISIN: LU3281688807 | TER: 0.20% | Replication: physical (full or optimised)
Tracks the MSCI EUR IG Universal Corporate Bond Index (Bloomberg: MFUNIGRT), a Net Total Return index measuring the performance of investment grade European corporate bonds with ESG integration. The starting universe is the MSCI EUR Corporate Bond index, with ESG filters that include issuers with solid or improving sustainability profiles while keeping exclusions to a minimum. Permitted derivatives: interest rate futures. Monthly rebalancing.
Expected tracking error is within 1% under normal market conditions for each fund. Securities lending is permitted up to 50% of assets for physically replicated funds.
Distribution: 13 countries, retail, private banking and bancassurance
The ETFs will progressively be available across the 12 countries where UniCredit operates directly — starting immediately in Italy, Germany, Austria and Luxembourg — and in Greece through the strategic partnership with Alpha Bank. The funds are accessible through the group’s retail, private banking and wealth management, and bancassurance channels, and are also directly tradeable on the secondary market by any investor through regulated brokers that include them in their catalogue.
Statements
Chicco Di Stasi, Head of Group Investment Product Solutions and Head of Equity & Credit Sales and Trading at UniCredit, commented: “This launch underlines our ambition to continue evolving our business from a successful distribution platform into a distinctive, modern asset management offering, combining strong product manufacturing, digital distribution and a clear client focus. The new ETFs further expand our ability to serve global investors with innovative, accessible tools suitable for delegated solutions. Our model, based on our internal capabilities and the freedom to rely on some of the best external partners on the market, remains the key to our accomplishments.”
Sandro Pierri, Chief Executive Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management, stated: “We are proud to participate in this project, which strengthens our relationship with the UniCredit Group. The appointment of BNP Paribas Asset Management as manager of the new onemarkets ETFs acknowledges our expertise in index management, which plays a strategically important role in our development plans.”
Francesco Robertella, Head of Funds Selection & Investment at UniCredit, added: “This is a fundamental step for us because it will allow us to grow both in terms of assets under management and in terms of flexibility, offering our clients an instrument that is extremely useful and now widely established in the market. This will only be the first step: we then expect to complete the ETF range in the future with even more innovative solutions. We decided to start with the ESG component this year, but we will complete the range with new active and more structured solutions.”
Context: the ETFplus market and Italian issuers
The ETFplus market recorded new highs in February, surpassing €200 billion in assets under management with more than 2,300 instruments listed across ETFs, ETCs and ETNs. The market has nonetheless been historically dominated by foreign operators. The major US issuers — BlackRock with iShares, Vanguard, State Street — and the leading continental managers such as Xtrackers (DWS), Amundi and BNP Paribas AM control the vast majority of assets.
Italian issuers have long remained a marginal presence. The first ETFs launched by an Italian asset manager were the Beta1 products by Nextra (then part of the Intesa Sanpaolo group) in 2003. After a lengthy gap, FinecoBank entered the ETF market in 2022. In 2024, Fideuram followed, debuting on the D-X platform with three equity ETFs covering Europe, the US and global equities, and three bond ETFs on eurozone government bonds across various maturities.
UniCredit now follows the same path, with a broader starting range and a high-profile industrial partner. With the listing of UniCredit’s seven ETFs, the total number of listings on Borsa Italiana since the start of the year reaches 84.
The BNP Paribas partnership: a relationship that deepens
The collaboration between UniCredit and BNP Paribas predates this launch. On 8 September 2025, UniCredit announced a partnership with BNP Paribas for securities custody services and with FNZ for a cloud-based post-trade securities platform, as part of the ongoing harmonisation of its operations between Italy and Germany. With the ETF launch, that partnership now extends into asset management.
The timing is deliberate. The distribution agreement between UniCredit and Amundi reaches its natural expiry in July 2027. Under the leadership of CEO Andrea Orcel, UniCredit has committed to bringing fund management back in-house in order to increase fee income. The agreement with UniCredit covers €88 billion of Amundi’s assets, of which €69 billion are in Italy. The launch of the onemarkets ETFs with BNP Paribas AM as delegated manager sits within this broader process of redefining the group’s asset management architecture.
The MSCI Universal methodology
MSCI Universal indexes are constructed from standard MSCI benchmarks — MSCI World, MSCI USA, MSCI Europe, MSCI Emerging Markets — with integrated ESG criteria. The methodology does not apply hard exclusions relative to the parent universe, but overweights companies with high ESG ratings or positive ESG rating trends, preserving as much diversification as possible compared to the traditional indexes. Rebalancing is semi-annual for equity funds and monthly for bond funds. The same Universal approach is applied to the corporate bond fund, while the two government bond ETFs do not incorporate ESG criteria.
Notes on the range and market positioning
The structure of the range follows a clear logic: coverage of the main developed equity markets (global, US, Europe) plus emerging markets, paired with three bond funds spanning the full maturity spectrum — from very short-term government bonds (one month to one year) to investment grade corporate credit. The TER of 0.25% for the equity funds sits within the competitive band for broad index ETFs with ESG integration. The 0.15% on the short-term government bond fund is particularly sharp against the market.
The seven index funds complement the actively managed funds already on the onemarkets platform. Adding a passive range makes the bank’s offering more scalable and accessible, including for delegated management solutions.
It remains to be seen how UniCredit will distribute these instruments through its branch network, and whether the onemarkets platform will succeed in attracting meaningful assets in a market where the major international issuers hold years of advantage in terms of brand recognition, liquidity and track record. Robertella’s comments suggest this range is not a final destination: new solutions, including active ETFs and more structured products, are already in the pipeline.
Source: ETFWorld.co.uk
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