BlackRock’s iShares expanded on its socially responsible exchange traded fund theme with the introduction of its first green bond strategy that cover fixed-income securities tied to projects designed to combat climate change or support a sustainable environment.
On Thursday, BlackRock rolled out the iShares Global Green Bond ETF (NasdaqGM: BGRN), which has a 0.20% expense ratio.
“This fund simplifies access to green bonds, enabling investors to more precisely match their values to their investment portfolios,” Carolyn Weinberg, iShares Global Head of Product at BlackRock, said in a note. “Issuers of green bonds disclose how their projects are achieving the promised environmental outcome, which will allow us to provide our clients with fund level impact reporting. BGRN can be positioned in the core of a global bond allocation or as a satellite in a diversified fixed income portfolio to achieve greater environmental impact.”
The iShares Global Green Bond ETF tries to reflect the performance of the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Global Green Bond Select (USD Hedged) Index, which is comprised of global investment-grade green bonds issued to fund projects with direct environmental benefits, according to the fund’s prospectus.