Amundi has renamed almost 40 Lyxor ETFs as it continues its rebranding strategy following the acquisition of its French rival last year.
The latest changes will see the name of 38 ETFs – all part of its multi-unit France Sociétés d'investissement à Capital Variable (SICAV) – change from Lyxor to Amundi.
Impacted ETFs include the €6bn Lyxor MSCI World UCITS ETF (WLDC) which will change to the Amundi MSCI World II UCITS ETF and the €3.2bn Lyxor CAC 40 UCITS ETF (CAC) which will be renamed the Amundi CAC 40 UCITS ETF.
In a shareholder notice, Amundi said: “We inform you that the board of directors of the SICAV has decided to change the names of the sub-funds of the SICAV to reflect Amundi’s naming policy following the merger that occurred on 1 June 2022.”
The range also includes several short and leveraged ETFs, as well as single-country strategies.
Amundi’s ETF range has been in a state of flux since it acquired Lyxor as the French asset manager continues to streamline the two ranges.
Europe’s largest asset manager has merged several ETFs this year including the $3.7bn Lyxor MSCI World (LUX) UCITS ETF with the Amundi MSCI World III UCITS ETF (AHYQ), meaning it now houses three global equity ETFs across two different domiciles, all of which track the same index.
The ETFs also differ in replication methods and price points.
It has also been shifting its range from Luxembourg to Ireland as it looks to benefit from the favourable tax treaties on US equities.
US equity ETFs domiciled in Ireland are subject to a 15% withholding tax rate on dividends versus 30% for ETFs in Luxembourg and other jurisdictions.
An Amundi spokesperson previously told ETF Stream the move was to offer its clients a variety of options including “a high level of flexibility in terms of fund domiciles”.
“This can imply having duplicates in the range as we have always had. Two ETFs tracking the same index may still have some differentiated features such as domicile, replication technique or fund size and liquidity answering different clients’ needs,” the spokesperson said.
