Deutsche Bank has launched a Ucits III compliant currency fund, a benchmark index product which offers institutional investors access to broad currency market returns.

The fund, called the DB Platinum Currency Returns Plus Fund, offers exposure to the Deutsche Bank Currency Returns + Index and is available in EUR, USD and GBP.

The DBCR+ Index has been developed to capture the bulk of currency market returns by investing equally into three core investment strategies:

• Carry: exploits differences in interest rates across G10 and emerging markets economies
• Momentum: exploits G10 currencies' tendency to trend over the short-to medium-term
• Valuation: exploits G10 currencies' tendency to revert to purchasing power parity over the long-term

The fund can be linked to Deutsche Bank’s DBCRX Index, which delivers two times the daily percentage change in the DBCR+ (unfunded) index plus a funding rate.

Zar Amrolia, global head of foreign exchange at Deutsche Bank, says: “Increasingly we see investors looking for convenient ways to access foreign exchange markets. Currency markets are increasingly being appreciated and accepted as a significant source of alpha that is portable, uncorrelated and sustainable. The DBCR+ Index is fast becoming a benchmark for currency investing and offering it in a Ucits III format gives currency investors increased options for accessing these returns.”

Manfred Schraepler, head of fund structuring at global markets structuring, Deutsche Bank, adds: “The currency market is by far the largest financial market in the world and therefore it is an important asset class to include in our comprehensive offering of systematically managed funds, and we are pleased to allow investors to access such a broad investment strategy in currency.”