Actively Managed Certificates: The Structure Behind the AMC.

An Actively Managed Certificate is a security that tracks a strategy an appointed manager runs inside a segregated account. MTCM supplies the securitization structure: a compartment, ring-fenced inside a Luxembourg SPV, that holds the account backing the certificate. The AMC itself is issued by a bank.

An AMC lets a manager package a strategy as a single security an investor can hold in custody. MTCM handles the securitization side: the strategy runs in a segregated third-party broker account, that account is held by a ring-fenced compartment of a Luxembourg SPV, and the issuing bank issues the certificate against it. Technically this is a broker account backed security; AMC is the term the market uses. The compartment is constituted under the Luxembourg Securitization Law of 22 March 2004, is bankruptcy remote, and that keeps the account insulated from events elsewhere on the platform. GSK Stockmann advises the platform, and PwC and Atwell serve as auditors.

Own ISIN

Held in custody, transferred or listed like any other security.

Ring-fenced

Segregated by law from every other transaction on the platform.

Bankruptcy remote

Protection runs in both directions.

Off-balance sheet

The exposure leaves the originator’s balance sheet.

What Strategies Can Sit Behind an AMC?

Equity Strategies

Long-only and long-short strategies run in listed equities.

Fixed-Income Strategies

Bond and credit strategies with a defined mandate.

Multi-Asset Allocations

Allocations spanning several asset classes under one mandate.

Thematic Mandates

Strategies built around a defined sector, theme or region.

Commodity-Linked Strategies

Exposure to commodity markets through regulated instruments.

Derivative Overlay Strategies

Hedging and overlay strategies using listed derivatives.

Discretionary Mandates Repackaged

An existing discretionary mandate expressed as a single security.

Model Portfolios

A house model portfolio made available as one instrument.

Fund-of-Fund Allocations

An allocation across identified funds, held in the account.

Structured Payoff Strategies

Defined payoff profiles built from listed underlyings.

Frequently Asked Questions.

What is an Actively Managed Certificate?

An AMC is a security that tracks a strategy run by an appointed manager inside a segregated broker account. The investor holds one certificate with an ISIN instead of replicating the strategy. AMC is the term the market uses; the technical description is a broker account backed security.

No. The AMC is issued by a bank. MTCM builds the structure: a ring-fenced compartment of a Luxembourg SPV that holds the segregated account backing the certificate. MTCM structures the operation, it does not issue the certificate.

They describe the same structure. AMC, Actively Managed Certificate, is the client-facing term the market recognises. BABS, broker account backed security, is the technical description: an SPV-based structure with the underlying assets in a segregated third-party broker account.

An appointed manager, under a defined mandate. MTCM is not an asset manager and does not manage third-party capital or make investment decisions. The manager runs the strategy; MTCM structures and administers the compartment.

In a segregated account with a third-party broker. The account sits inside the compartment, which is ring-fenced by law from every other transaction on the platform, and is reviewed as part of the compartment’s audit.

An AMC is generally faster to set up and workable at a smaller size, because there is no fund vehicle, no fund authorisation and no separate management company. A fund may still be the right answer where the strategy needs a fund’s regulatory perimeter.

From Idea to Redemption.

  1. Idea. We map the strategy, the appointed manager, the broker and the bank that will issue the certificate.
  2. Structuring. The compartment is designed around the segregated account: mandate limits, valuation frequency and reporting.
  3. ISIN. The certificate is issued by the bank and receives its own ISIN.
  4. Audits. The audit is carried out by PwC and Atwell; the account, mandate and broker arrangements are reviewed.
  5. Reporting. Periodic reporting to holders on the account, aligned with the valuation frequency agreed at structuring.
  6. Payments. Amounts arising in the account are administered through the compartment.
  7. Redemption. The certificate is redeemed and the account closed, and the compartment is closed with it.
Two curved glass volumes framing an opening — broker account backed securities

Who Does What in an AMC?

RoleWho takes it
Runs the strategyThe appointed manager, under the mandate
Holds the assetsA third-party broker, in a segregated account
Provides the securitization structureMTCM, through a ring-fenced Luxembourg compartment
Issues the certificateA bank
Holds the certificateThe investor, through their own custodian

MTCM structures the operation. MTCM does not issue the AMC.

AMC, Fund or Segregated Mandate.

AMCFundSegregated mandate
What the investor holdsA certificate with an ISINFund unitsTheir own account
Time to launchWeeksMonthsImmediate, per client
Minimum practical sizeLowHighPer client
Who can hold itAnyone whose custodian takes securitiesDepends on fund distributionThe mandate holder only

Why Structure AMC (BABS) Through a Compartment?

  • A strategy becomes one line. Investors hold a single security with an ISIN instead of replicating the strategy themselves.
  • Ring-fenced by law. The broker account is held in a compartment of its own, which the law keeps separate from every other.
  • Segregated third-party account. The strategy runs in an account held with a third-party broker, not on MTCM’s books.
  • Off-balance sheet. The account sits in the compartment rather than on the originator’s balance sheet.
  • Faster than launching a fund. No fund vehicle, no fund regulator authorisation, no separate management company.

Talk to our structuring team.

80+ active compartments · €2.5 bn+ assets structured. Indicative platform figures.