An Interview with iM Global Partner

Since February 2, the first ETF issued by iM Global Partner has been tradable on Deutsche Börse Xetra. We spoke with Julien Froger, Managing Director, Head of Europe and Luc Dumontier, Managing Director, CIO- Global Asset Management at iM Global Partner, about the listing.

Why are you listing the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Fund UCITS ETF on Xetra?

Julien: Listing on Xetra is a natural step for us given its position as Europe’s leading ETF trading venue and a key access point for German and Nordic investors. We have seen strong and growing demand from clients in these regions, many of whom trade predominantly via Xetra, and it was important to offer them direct access to our managed futures UCITS ETF through this platform.

We are building on years of proven expertise in the U.S., where we have successfully offered actively managed ETFs and developed one of the world’s leading managed futures strategies in an ETF format. Bringing the same strategy to Europe increases accessibility and allows investors to benefit from the same diversification characteristics globally.

Our long‑standing partnership with DBi, specialists in hedge fund replication, gives us a unique edge. Together, we have been able to democratise a strategy traditionally confined to institutional hedge funds by offering daily liquidity, transparency, and substantially lower fees. This combination of client demand, proven U.S. success, and deep partnership expertise is what underpins our commitment to expanding our active ETF platform across Europe.

Why are managed futures particularly relevant for investors today, and how does your UCITS ETF provide access to this strategy?

Luc: Today’s investment environment is increasingly shaped by concentration risk and valuation sensitivity within equity markets. A relatively small group of large, expensive stocks now drives a significant share of index performance, leaving portfolios vulnerable if leadership narrows or reverses. At the same time, investors are navigating ongoing macro transitions — from inflation dynamics to shifting monetary policy and geopolitical uncertainty — that can challenge traditional portfolio construction.

Managed futures are particularly relevant in this context because they are not anchored to equity valuations or market direction. Instead, they seek to capture sustained trends across a wide opportunity set, including equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities, with the flexibility to invest both long and short as market conditions evolve.

Our UCITS ETF makes this strategy accessible in a regulated, transparent, and daily-liquid format, allowing investors to introduce a differentiated return stream alongside traditional equity and bond exposures.

What characterises the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Fund UCITS ETF?

Luc: Developed with our Partner DBi, the UCITS ETF is designed to give investors simple, transparent access to managed futures an asset class that has traditionally been available mainly through hedge funds.

A key feature of the approach is its robustness. Rather than relying on a single model or narrow set of signals, the approach seeks to replicate the common performance drivers of a broad group of established managed futures hedge funds. This helps reduce model risk and limits the risk of overfitting to specific historical patterns.

Julien: With $3 billion already invested across US and Europe, the strategy is implemented using a proprietary quantitative approach and a limited number of highly liquid futures contracts spanning global equities, government bonds, currencies, and commodities.

In our view, it represents a step change in how European investors can access institutional-grade managed futures within a regulated, scalable, and accessible UCITS ETF format.

Thank you for the interview!