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Case studies — November 9, 2020

Manage and Hedge Portfolio with Listed Derivatives on ESG Benchmark Indices

Trading Desks

Fund Managers

Portfolio Managers


The Need

Investors need new indices that can accurately reflect sustainable mandates and underlie appropriate investment instruments such as listed derivatives to better manage and hedge portfolios.

The Challenge

When one of Scandinavia’s largest asset managers extended its responsible investing principles to all types of instruments, its trading arm could not use listed derivatives anymore to manage flows and risk on many equity portfolios, as existing European equity index derivatives had exposure to controversial activities banned by the firm’s responsible policies.

The Solution

We devised versions of well-established STOXX benchmarks that consider responsible policies without incurring significant tracking error. Through a market consultation we identified the standard policies of leading asset owners and incorporated them into the design of the indices. Thanks to our close collaboration with Eurex, a broad range of derivatives on STOXX & DAX ESG indices are available today: EURO STOXX 50 ESG, DAX 50 ESG, STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X, STOXX USA 500 ESG-X, STOXX® Europe ESG Leaders Select 30, EURO STOXX® 50 Low Carbon and STOXX® Europe Climate Impact. Futures on the STOXX® USA 500 ESG-X Index are the first ones available on a US benchmark featuring a screening for thermal-coal mining and coal-fired power plants.

Futures on the STOXX® USA 500 ESG-X Index are the first ones available on a US benchmark featuring a screening for thermal-coal mining and coal-fired power plants.

The STOXX Advantage

Experience in designing liquid, rules-based indices that underly some of the world’s most-traded derivatives

‘Open architecture’ philosophy allows us to partner with leading data providers, such as Sustainalytics and ISS ESG, whose ESG screening methodology’s quality is recognized worldwide

Our indices respond to specific client needs, and we collaborate with stakeholders in every step of the process to design solutions that are viable and efficient from a trading perspective

STOXX Products