BlackRock has made further strides in its commitment to making sustainability its standard for investing by broadening its range of fixed income sustainable exchange traded funds (ETFs) with a suite of three ultrashort bond environmental, social and governance (ESG) products.
The three new funds are ESG equivalents of existing iShares Ucits ETFs and provide USD, EUR and GBP exposure to investment grade, very short duration fixed and floating corporates across industrials, utilities and financial companies. The ESG criteria explicitly excludes issuers involved in controversial weapons, nuclear weapons, conventional weapons, civilian firearms, tobacco, adult entertainment, alcohol, gambling, nuclear power, genetically modified organisms, oil sands and thermal coal.
Brett Olson, head of Fixed income iShares EMEA at BlackRock said, "Investors are turning to iShares ETFs to access markets and make portfolio allocations quickly and cost-effectively amid market uncertainty, and the trend towards sustainability is weathering the turbulence. The global sustainable ETF industry has attracted $14.3bn since the start of the year, and we remain committed to providing investors with the choice of investment tools to build resilient portfolios and meet sustainability goals."
The three funds are:
iShares USD Ultrashort Bond ESG Ucits ETF (UEDD): tracks the Markit iBoxx ESG USD Liquid Investment Grade Ultrashort index and carries a TER of 0.09%.
iShares EUR Ultrashort Bond ESG Ucits ETF (EUED): tracks the Markit iBoxx ESG EUR Liquid Investment grade Ultrashort index and carries a TER of 0.09%
iShares GBP Ultrashort Bond ESG Ucits ETF (UESD): tracks the Markit iBoxx ESG GBP Liquid Investment Grade Ultrashort index and carries a TER of 0.09%.
