One of the reasons an actively managed certificate is such a flexible wrapper is that it can hold almost any kind of underlying. Where a traditional fund is often constrained by its mandate and regulatory regime, an actively managed certificate can be built around equities one day, private debt the next, and a basket of digital assets after that — all while staying a single, bankable security with an ISIN. That flexibility is why managers reach for the structure, but “almost anything” is not “anything”, and the choice of underlying shapes valuation, custody and the investor it suits. This guide walks through what can go inside an actively managed certificate and what each asset class implies.
How an actively managed certificate holds its assets
An actively managed certificate is a debt security issued from a securitisation vehicle. The manager defines a strategy and the certificate’s value tracks the net asset value of the underlying portfolio held against it; the manager has discretion to trade that portfolio within the rules set at issuance, and it settles like any listed security. Because the wrapper is asset-agnostic, the practical question for each underlying is the same: can it be reliably valued, held in custody (or otherwise controlled), and traded within the certificate’s operational set-up? Where yes, it can usually go in an actively managed certificate.
Liquid securities: equities, bonds and ETFs
The most common underlyings are listed instruments — equities, bonds, ETFs and other exchange-traded products. They price daily, settle through standard custody and are simple to value, making them the natural home for discretionary long-only or long/short strategies. A manager running a conviction equity book or multi-asset allocation can put it straight into an actively managed certificate and give professional investors a single ISIN to buy.
Funds and alternative strategies
An actively managed certificate can hold units in other funds — hedge funds, private equity funds and other alternatives — turning a portfolio of fund positions into one bankable line. This is popular for funds-of-funds and for custody-friendly access to strategies otherwise awkward to hold directly. Where the underlying funds price less frequently, the certificate's valuation cycle is set to match.
Private and illiquid assets
Real estate, private debt, private equity stakes, receivables and other illiquid assets can sit inside an actively managed certificate, securitised so professional investors hold them through their bank rather than via direct subscription. Because these assets do not price daily, valuation is done on a defined periodic basis and the certificate is structured for buy-and-hold professional investors. (For real-estate financing specifically a credit-linked note is often cleaner, but private assets can absolutely form the underlying of an actively managed certificate.)
Digital assets and crypto
An actively managed certificate is increasingly used to wrap digital-asset strategies — spot crypto baskets, staking strategies, or discretionary crypto trading. The manager runs the strategy while investors get regulated-market settlement and bank custody of a familiar security instead of holding tokens and keys themselves. Valuation references recognised crypto benchmarks and the set-up addresses custody of the digital assets behind the certificate.
Derivatives and structured exposures
An actively managed certificate can incorporate derivatives — futures, options and swaps — to hedge, gain leverage or build defined payoff profiles, within the risk parameters agreed at issuance.
What to weigh when choosing the underlying
The asset class drives valuation frequency (daily for listed, periodic for private/illiquid), custody (solved per type, especially digital assets), the investor base (narrows as liquidity falls), and the strategy rules set at issuance.
Summary
| Underlying | Valuation | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Equities, bonds, ETFs | Daily | Discretionary long-only or long/short |
| Funds & alternatives | Per underlying cycle | Funds-of-funds, bankable access |
| Private / illiquid assets | Periodic | Real estate, private debt, PE in bankable form |
| Digital assets / crypto | Benchmark-based | Spot baskets, staking, discretionary crypto |
| Derivatives | Mark-to-market | Hedging, leverage, defined payoffs |
How Noray helps
Noray Capital is a Swiss-based structuring coordinator that issues actively managed certificates, ETPs, CLNs and Tracker Certificates across Luxembourg, Guernsey, Cayman and Switzerland. Whatever the underlying — listed, alternative, private or digital — we structure the compartment, solve valuation and custody, obtain the ISIN, and bring the certificate to market, typically in 4 to 8 weeks.
This article is for informational purposes only and is intended for professional investors. It does not constitute legal, tax, financial or investment advice, nor an offer of any security.