BlackRock has launched two ETFs that aim to help investors align their portfolios with the objectives of the Paris Agreement as the firm's EMEA sustainable range exceeds $50bn AUM.

The iShares S&P 500 Paris Aligned UCITS ETF and the iShares MSCI World Paris Aligned UCITS ETF are designed to mitigate exposure to transition and physical climate risks, capture opportunities arising from the transition to a lower-carbon economy, and screen out exposure to businesses involved in activities such as oil and gas, thermal coal, controversial weapons, high-carbon electricity generation and social norm violators.

Both ETFs fall under Article 9 of the European Union's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, in line with BlackRock's expectation that 70% of its fund launches and repositionings in Europe this year qualify for Article 8 or 9.

Manuela Sperandeo (pictured), BlackRock's EMEA head of sustainable indexing, said: "As the low-carbon transition continues to transform market return expectations, we believe clients are best served by being at the forefront of that transition.

"This will require investors to embrace new strategies, and ETFs are playing a central role as foundational building blocks for people seeking out affordability, transparency and convenience. Our focus remains on providing a broad and deep set of sustainable investment tools that help investors make informed choices."

The double launch comes as the iShares Sustainable UCITS range exceeds $50bn in assets, with first quarter 2021 inflows of $10bn almost tripling the pace of asset gathering in the same quarter of 2020.

Today, 17 funds out of the 50 available sustainable UCITS ETFs have more than $1bn in assets, up from three funds a year ago.

The Paris Agreement set the goal of keeping a global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

First published by our sister title Investment Week

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