US giant Fidelity International has added ETFs to its Sustainable Family Fund range for the first time
Three actively managed ESG ETFs have been made available to European investors offering exposure to three core regions; Global, US and Europe.
The Fidelity Sustainable Research Enhanced Equity ETFs have been listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse Xetra.
They employ a systematic active strategy and leverage Fidelity’s analyst research, the group said. Companies with strong sustainability credentials are identified using Fidelity’s Sustainable Ratings, which range from fundamental (five stage buy/sell) ratings and sustainable (A-E) ratings and are assigned by internal analysts.
Nick King, head of ETFs at Fidelity, explained the ratings process: “Incorporating sustainable investing principles is a key priority for many of our clients. We recently launched our proprietary sustainability ratings which draw upon the assessments of more than 160 research analysts and the expertise of our dedicated ESG team. This is one of the biggest in-house research teams globally and our analysts conduct in excess of 15,000 company meetings each year. This deep corporate access gives us the opportunity to engage directly with companies we invest in and provides a truly forward-looking view of the factors impacting a company’s ESG credentials and trajectory.”
The ETF portfolios typically consist of 250-500 stocks and will be rebalanced quarterly. They carry charges of between 0.30-0.35%.
| Fund | Ticker | OCF | Comparative market index |
| Fidelity Sustainable Research Enhanced US Equity | FUSR | 0.30% | MSCI USA Index |
| Fidelity Sustainable Research Enhanced Global Equity | FGUR | 0.35% | MSCI World Index |
| Fidelity Sustainable Research Enhanced Europe Equity | FEUR | 0.30% | MSCI Europe Index |
Jenn-Hui Tan, global head of stewardship and sustainable investing at Fidelity International, commented:”Sustainable investing has proven to be one of the most significant shifts in asset management in a generation, heightened by increasing evidence that ESG investing can enhance financial returns. This trend was reaffirmed in our own research where stocks with higher ESG ratings outperformed lower rated stocks during the recent covid-19 induced market sell-off.
“In line with our fiduciary duty and in response to our clients’ demands, we have been substantially increasing our focus on sustainable investment over recent years, including the launch of our Sustainable Ratings and Sustainable Family fund range. These new ETFs represent a key development in our capabilities by offering investors an enhanced ESG profile and low-cost access to Fidelity’s high-conviction analyst views.”
The ETFs join Fidelity’s Sustainable Family range of funds, which already features five products; two sustainable thematic funds focusing on carbon reduction and water and waste as well as three equity and fixed income funds.
