BNP Paribas Asset Management has expanded its Easy range of ETFs with the launch of a socially responsible credit exchange-traded fund that provides investors with low carbon exposure to around 400 euro-denominated grade bonds selected using ESG criteria.
BNP Paribas Easy € Corp Bond SRI Fossil Free Ucits ETF, a tracker that replicates the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Corporate SRI Sustainable Reduced Fossil Fuel Index, is part of a new strategy aimed at strengthening BNPP AM's index solutions capability within socially responsible investment and bond indices in 2019.
The new credit ETF is a sub-fund of BNP Paribas Easy, a sicav registered under Luxembourg law. Itwill list on Euronext on 19 February 2019 and on Xetra on 26 February 2019 but it is not available to UK investors.
Isabelle Bourcier, global head of Quantitative & Index at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said: "The launch of BNP Paribas Easy € Corp Bond SRI Fossil Free Ucits ETF is part of a dual approach to develop our low carbon footprint SRI offering and our bond index range. At the end of December 2018 we managed €1.9bn in ESG index funds."
The Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Corporate SRI Sustainable Reduced Fossil Fuel index includes debt securities of the best-rated (investment-grade) bond issuers with an MSCI ESG rating above BBB,using the best-in-class selection approach. It excludes companies that do not respect UN Global Compact principles and that are involved in sectors such as alcohol, gambling, pornography, tobacco, nuclear, genetically-modified organisms and weapons. In addition, the index offers investors reduced exposure to companies involved in fossil fuels, one of the most carbon-intensive areas.
