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

Vanguard Asset Management
As investors increasingly look for investments which have a positive environmental impact, Vanguard Asset Management has launched two new ESG focused exchange traded funds, the Vanguard ESG Developed Europe All Cap UCITS ETF and the Vanguard ESG North America All Cap UCITS ETF.

They are designed to serve as core building blocks for ESG-aware portfolios, the firm said in a statement. The ETFs have been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Deutsche Boerse, Borsa Italiana, Six Swiss Exchange, and Euronext Amsterdam.

The Vanguard ESG Developed Europe All Cap UCITS ETF tracks the FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Choice Index, providing exposure to large, mid and small-cap stocks in developed European countries, with ongoing charges of 0.12 per cent, the firm explained.

The Vanguard ESG North America All Cap UCITS ETF tracks the FTSE North America All Cap Choice Index, provides exposure to large, mid, and small-cap stocks in the United States of America and Canada, with an OCF of 0.12 per cent, the asset manager added.

Vanguard said its exclusionary ESG funds track benchmarks that are derived from commonly used and available market-capitalization-weighted indices, provided by independent benchmark providers, which give a weighted exposure to large, medium and small companies in the relevant target markets.

Its benchmark providers then apply transparent screening criteria to avoid or reduce exposure to certain industries that many investors are concerned about, such as firearms, tobacco or fossil fuels.

The firm said that the exclusionary funds offer many of the advantages of conventional index funds, including broad exposure to a market or market segment, which enables them to serve as building blocks for a broadly diversified portfolio.

Welcoming the move, Fong Yee Chan, head of ESG strategy, UK and Europe, said: “Over the past couple of years, we have diligently developed our ESG range to enable investors to choose the products that best align with their preferences alongside their investment goals.”

“The launches are the start of the next stage in that commitment, building out our suite of “building block” ESG ETFs, designed to help investors construct ESG ETF portfolios for the long term, at a low cost," Chan added.

The two new ETFs are managed by Vanguard’s Equity Index Group, which manages more than $4.8 trillion in assets across the globe, the firm stressed.