The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.

Invesco
Invesco, an Atlanta-headquartered investment management company, is launching a global corporate bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims to increase exposure to investment-grade issuers that demonstrate a strong ESG profile.

The Invesco Global Corporate Bond ESG UCITS ETF will be passively managed, investing in the securities of corporate issuers from across developed markets, with weightings adjusted in accordance with certain ESG metrics, the firm said in a statement.   

The new Invesco ETF will aim to track the Bloomberg MSCI Global Liquid Corporate ESG Weighted SRI Sustainable Bond Index, which comprises the fixed-rate, taxable debt securities from global corporate issuers in developed countries. To be eligible, issuers must have an investment-grade credit rating and the principal and interest of the securities denominated in dollars, euros, sterling or the Canadian dollar. The list of eligible currencies will be reviewed annually, the firm added. The ESG-related objective will be achieved through a combination of exclusions and tilting.

“Investors have been using ETFs to gain exposure to fixed income markets increasingly over the past five years,” Gary Buxton, head of EMEA ETFs and Indexed Strategies at Invesco, said. “One of the main drivers of this acceleration in demand has been the launch of fixed income ETFs targeting specific ESG-related objectives, particularly those aiming to provide an uplift in ESG characteristics while maintaining a similar risk and return profile to a non-ESG benchmark.”

Banque Bonhôte & Cie
Banque Bonhôte & Cie has introduced the Bonhôte Selection – Global Bonds ESG, a new sub-fund designed to seize opportunities arising in fixed-income markets.

Bonhôte Selection – Global Bonds ESG invests in a range of fixed-income assets whilst paying attention to ESG criteria in its investment selection, the firm said in a statement. It is managed quantitively using indicators to determine the attractiveness of various segments of the bond market. By not having to respect regional and sector weighting constraints, the investment universe can include all categories of fixed income assets, such as sovereign bonds, corporate bonds, both investment grade and high yield, and CAT bonds, the firm added.