First Trust boosts presence in Chile through alliance

Business Wire

WHEATON - First Trust Advisors, a global exchange-traded fund provider and asset manager, has teamed with Chile's third-largest privately owned bank, Banco de Credito e Inversiones, to market First Trust ETFs in Chile.

First Trust said the alliance will bring their broad ETF product line to BCI's client base. The ETFs provide an efficient and simple way for Chilean investors to access the capital markets while diversifying risk with a product that generally involves lower costs than traditional mutual funds.

First Trust plans to work together with BCI to educate Chilean investors on the potential benefits that ETFs offer.

BCI, one of the largest financial corporations in Chile with an international credit risk rating of A by Standard & Poor's, A1 by Moody's and A- by Fitch Ratings, was the first bank in Latin America to purchase a bank in the U.S. As a full wholesale bank, BCI has more than 75 years of history working closely with a wide range of clients, with a specific focus on corporations and institutional clients. Besides Chile, BCI has regional presence in Peru, Colombia and Mexico, and representation offices in China and Brazil.

"We are focused on building a team worthy of the clients we have the privilege of working with in Chile and across Latin America. We think we've taken the first step in building that team by collaborating with BCI in an effort to continue providing unique investment solutions and serving our clients in the days and years to come," said Codie Sanchez-Baker, Head of Latin America and U.S. Offshore Distribution at First Trust.

First Trust first entered the Chilean market in 2014. The effort was further bolstered with the approval of two equity ETFs by the Chilean pension funds investment risk rating commission, La Comisión Clasificadora de Riesgo (CCR) in 2015 and the approval of an additional six equity ETFs this year.