Zug (September 27, 2021) – Qontigo has licensed two climate, sustainability and factor-focused STOXX indices to FlexShares, part of Northern Trust Asset Management, as underlyings for exchange traded funds (ETFs): the iSTOXX Northern Trust Emerging Markets High Dividend Climate ESG Index and the iSTOXX Northern Trust Developed Markets Low Volatility Climate ESG Index.
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The iSTOXX Northern Trust Emerging Markets High Dividend Climate ESG Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented universe of emerging-market equity securities, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth, as well as to achieve climate and sustainability targets.
The iSTOXX Northern Trust Developed Markets Low Volatility Climate ESG Index is designed to feature a universe of companies that exhibit lower overall absolute volatility, while paying attention to climate and sustainability targets.
“We are proud to expand our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) product offerings in Europe. We believe that investors should be compensated for the risks they take in all market environments. As we see growth opportunities throughout various regions in emerging markets, our newly launched ETFs are designed to capitalize on this growth while leveraging our more than 30 years of sustainable investing expertise.”
Marie Dzanis, Northern Trust Asset Management’s Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
“Climate and sustainability have become central investment themes for many of our clients. Northern Trust’s proprietary datasets and our portfolio construction expertise made this cooperation possible. The index contains companies that exhibit strength in profitability, management expertise and cash flow. The weighting of each constituent security is determined through an optimization process that is designed to meet climate and sustainability targets.”
Stephan Flaegel, Chief Product Officer, Indices and Benchmarks at Qontigo
Both indices are derived from the iSTOXX Northern Trust Emerging Markets Index. Measurement of the sustainability and climate targets are via Northern Trust ESG Scores, Northern Trust ESG Exclusion Flags and ISS ESG carbon risk rating and emissions data.
This launch follows the introduction by FlexShares earlier this year of two other ETFs based on STOXX indices tracking climate- and factor-based strategies.