London
Lyxor gets the GIST
Lyxor gets the gist of the fee war, and is listing the cheapest global inflation-linked bond ETF in Europe. The Lyxor Core Global Inflation-Linked 1-10Y Bond DR UCITS ETF (GIST) will provide broad based exposure to the global inflation linked bond market via a Bloomberg Barclays index. GIST’s underlying bonds will be overwhelmingly American.
The competing product from iShares charges more than double what GIST will.
BlackRock rolls out low carbon funds
BlackRock is launching six new “sustainable” ETFs in London that aim to give “low carbon” portfolios.
With its partnership with MSCI, the new indexes will exclude the usual suspects of thermal coal, oil sands, tobacco, weapons, porn and gambling companies. Companies that survive the filter will then be weighted for low carbon emissions and MSCI-given ESG scores. BlackRock believes that the new listings will have 30% less carbon emissions than their market weighted counterparts.
Analysis – BlackRock reacts to Trump
The ESG ETF roll out in Europe has a number of drivers: the intergenerational transfer of wealth; Trump’s election; Europe’s larger appetite for this type of product; and an opportunity to tap pension funds, which have been reluctant to directly use ETFs. (Pension funds don’t need intraday liquidity and would prefer to buy funds at NAV, as open-ended funds always allow).
Different ETF providers list ESG products for different reasons. But for BlackRock, one gets the impression that it’s mostly a reaction to Trump’s election. Europeans’ higher appetite for ESG; greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming; millennials inheriting their parents money – this was all well-known before 2016. Yet most of BlackRock’s ESG funds have come since then. For us, these listings are best understood as political in origin. However, as they are low cost and provide a useful service to the market, they should be welcomed.
Taiwan
Fubon lists CSI 500 tracker
Taiwanese ETF giant Fubon is listing a new China small cap tracker. The Fubon Multiple Income II ETF Umbrella Fund-Fubon China CSI 500 Index ETF (00783) will track the CSI Smallcap 500 Index.