BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched a socially responsible credit exchange-traded fund.
The company’s Easy Euro Corporate Bond SRI Fossil Free UCITS ETF is designed to appeal to investors seeking low carbon exposure from around 400 investment grade bonds, which are selected on their ESG credentials.
BNP Paribas Asset Management has announced plans to further expand its index solutions products in 2019, specifically focussing on socially responsible investments and bond indices, through its “Easy” range of ETFs.
“The launch of BNP Paribas Easy Euro 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,” said Isabelle Bourcier, the company’s global head of quantitative & index.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the company said its assets managed in dedicated ESG index funds stood at £1.7bn (€1.9bn) at the end of December 2018.
This latest fund tracks the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Corporate SRI Sustainable Reduced Fossil Fuel Index, which includes investment grade bond issuers with an MSCI ESG rating of BBB and above.
It also excludes companies in breach of the UN Global Compact principles or that are involved in sectors such as alcohol, gaming, pornography, tobacco, nuclear power, genetically modified organisms, or armaments.
This latest ETF launched on Euronext on Tuesday (19 February) and will launch on Germany’s Xetra exchange on 26 February. The ETF is a sub-fund of BNP Paribas Easy, a Luxembourg registered SICAV.
