Today, DWS Group announced the launch of Xtrackers MSCI EAFE ESG Leaders Equity ETF (NYSEArca: EASG), expanding its product suite of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) will provide investors with further transparency into company performance beyond traditional financial analysis, and will allow them to efficiently invest in high ESG rating companies located in developed markets outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Earlier this month, DWS Group launched the first ESG money market fund in the U.S.– DWS ESG Liquidity Fund (NasdaqGM: ESGXX), which invests in high-quality, short-term, U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments that pay a fixed, variable or floating interest rate while also filtering for various ESG factors using DWS’s proprietary ESG Engine.
Related: Why We Think ESG Is a Bedrock Investment Issue
“More than one-quarter of assets under management globally are now being invested according to the premise that ESG factors can materially affect a company’s performance and market value,” said Fiona Bassett, Global Co-Head of Passive Asset Management and Global Co-Head of Products, in a press release. “Through our Xtrackers suite, our aim is to provide efficient access to international markets, asset classes or strategies that deliver new investment opportunities capitalizing on emerging trends. The ESG rating data incorporated in EASG could help investors better evaluate the risk and return potential of financial opportunities.”
EASG seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the MSCI EAFE ESG Leaders Index. The MSCI EAFE ESG Leaders Index provides exposure to companies, large and mid cap, with high ESG performance relative to their sector peers. The Index is comprised of companies across developed markets countries around the world, excluding the US and Canada.