BNP Paribas Wealth Management has collaborated with BNP Paribas Asset Management to roll out a new CIO Strategy Fund, with a target fund size of US$300 million.

Launched in Asia in August 2025, the fund is designed to provide clients with streamlined access to the bank’s chief investment office (CIO) views.

The French bank exclusively told Asian Private Banker the rationale behind the fund launch, and how it has helped foster greater “One Bank” collaboration across the bank’s units.

According to Arnaud Tellier, Asia CEO of BNP Paribas WM, clients often follow the bank’s CIO views, but lack the time or resources to translate those recommendations into their portfolios. The new fund is intended to close that execution gap and make CIO-led strategies more accessible.

“It is meant really to represent the best of BNP Paribas Wealth Management and BNP Paribas Asset Management. It is an easy concept to understand because it fully relates to what clients hear every week from our CIO views,” Tellier told Asian Private Banker in a recent interview.

The minimum ticket size for the fund is US$200,000, a threshold that appeals to smaller investors, but uptake has broadened quickly. Family offices and strategic clients now account for roughly one-third of total volume.

Tellier noted that some clients were initially cautious and preferred to wait for more performance data. Early results, he added, have shifted sentiment: what began as scepticism has increasingly turned into fear of missing out. “This was a positive start, which I think will lead to increased investments into the fund, gradually.”

As of September 2025, the fund had attracted US$220 million in inflows, and the bank is aiming to reach US$300 million by year-end.

A diversified solution

For BNP Paribas WM, the new offering complements its managed solution suites. Unlike the traditional DPM offering, which tends to be highly tailored, single-asset mandates such as fixed income with regional limits or equities in a specific currency, the CIO Strategy Fund invests across a wide spectrum of asset classes.

Diversification is achieved by combining internal and external funds, ensuring varied asset manager exposure, and blending active funds with ETFs, according to Mike Nikou, Asia CEO for BNP Paribas AM.

Nikou highlighted the use of both liquid and illiquid strategies in the solution as a differentiator in the market. “There are a lot of balanced solutions using mostly long-only traditional asset classes. But here, we’re combining it with up to about 20% private assets and alternatives and giving investors the opportunity to have daily liquidity, which is very different,” Nikou told APB.

BNP Paribas AM closed its acquisition of AXA Investment Managers in July this year, becoming the largest European private asset manager. Nikou said the team is keen to leverage its enhanced private market capabilities following the acquisition. “Any semi-liquid solution from AXA IM that fits the CIO view will be looked at and compared to what’s out there in the market for selection,” he said.

Changing market environments also provide a tailwind for the new solution, Tellier believes, as investors are struggling with self-directed methods, such as buying index ETFs amid richly valued markets. “It’s really a solution that should be attractive to all types of clients, particularly given where we stand right now in terms of market and asset valuation,” he said.

“When markets become more volatile, you see investors being somewhat impacted negatively by market timing. This product is well diversified across equities, fixed income, private assets, gold and commodities. It’s a great base to add in a portfolio,” Nikou added.

He anticipates the multi-asset solution model will continue to grow in Asia. BNP Paribas AM is actively participating in this trend, either by contributing single asset classes to external models or managing specialised multi-asset sustainable products, he said.

‘One Bank’

The new solution requires intensive teamwork from key functions within BNP Paribas WM, including fund advisory, DPM, and the CIO office, as well as collaboration with BNP Paribas AM, which is responsible for ongoing portfolio management, risk monitoring, and cost-efficient implementation.

Nikou said that the BNP Paribas WM and BNP Paribas AM teams jointly executed the project from the initial idea to product launch. “For us, it’s natural to leverage our internal partners, and we want to do more with wealth management,” he said.

To Tellier, it also represents a critical evolution of the ‘One Bank’ value proposition, in that BNP Paribas WM integrates wealth management with corporate and investment banking, while seeing its collaboration with the asset management business as equally significant.

“It is highly beneficial to cooperate, as it allows us to combine our CIO expertise with BNP Paribas AM’s distinct competitive edge in areas like sustainability and specific geographies such as China. While we strategically draw on their resources, we maintain an open architecture and work together at arm’s length,” Tellier said.

“The high level of trust between us and BNP Paribas AM makes it much easier to brainstorm and jointly develop innovative client solutions,” Tellier told APB.