Credit Suisse sells ETF business to Blackrock as synthetic model falters

Is the sale of Credit Suisse’s physical ETF business to Blackrock the death knell for the derivatives-based model? By Richard Jory

There was a moment last year when it seemed that derivatives-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had won the battle against physically backed ETFs in Europe, but it now looks like that moment was merely a watershed for the demise of the derivatives-backed version of the investments. In a turnaround that has taken place over the past nine months, culminating in Credit Suisse's agreement in January to sell its ETF business to Blackrock, the parent company of ETF provider iShares, those in Europe