News & Research

Transaction costs play a crucial role for any investor considering adopting sustainable principles in their investments. This study from ISS LiquidMetrix and STOXX investigates the costs, and cost efficiencies, of shifting a benchmark portfolio of European equities to climate-transition versions.

Biodiversity is vital for our planet and society. With the emergence of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, investors are gaining a better understanding of biodiversity-linked risks and opportunities in their portfolios. This paper begins by exploring the current metrics available for assessing the biodiversity footprints of companies. It then describes the ISS STOXX framework for building biodiversity indices, based on three fundamental steps: “Avoid,” “Minimize,” and “Enable.”

In this paper, we explore the rationale and methodology behind the construction of the index. We start by explaining the concept of megatrends and how they can be captured through thematic indexing, using a multifaceted approach. We look as well at the index performance before concluding with an outlook on the opportunities for the Metaverse in the years to come.

The recent launch of the STOXX U.S. Equity Factor Index, which underlies the iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF (LRGF), highlights the real-world performance benefits of a factor-based approach that seeks to manage risk relative to a capitalization-weighted benchmark.

The STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index captures the global digital transformation of entertainment and education – a long-term structural change. The individual characteristics of the stocks in this index are what set it apart: the Specific Return factor made the largest positive contribution to the seven-year return of all the indices in the study.

This paper focuses on creating SDG portfolios that maximize exposure to one, two or all SDGs. The study shows that it is quite possible to create a portfolio that significantly improves the exposure to SDGs without taking on too much active risk. An optimizer can help manage that active risk.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine spooked equity investors around the world, but losses were not distributed equally across all sectors, with some industries even exhibiting positive returns. This opens up opportunities for more focused strategies such as thematic investing.

While sustainable investing is not a new concept, its growing popularity means a sharper focus is needed on how to achieve sustainability goals without sacrificing returns or taking on too much unintended risk.