BlackRock to Expand Access to ESG DataBlackRock to Expand Access to ESG Data

BlackRock’s iShares plans to make environmental, social and governance and carbon intensity metrics available for all its exchange traded funds by early next year. The firm’s website currently shows these metrics only for ESG ETFs.

ESG metrics include MSCI ESG Quality Score, the MSCI ESG percentage of coverage, the MSCI Lipper Peer Group percentile ranking and MSCI Weighted Average Carbon Intensity. iShares plans to expand that data by the end of 2019 for all ETFs. 

The firm also launched a new ESG Portfolio Analyzer for advisors and institutional clients. Using MSCI’s underlying ESG Fund Metrics, the tool analyzes portfolios on ESG scores, carbon intensity and the percentage of revenue associated with sustainable impact solutions.

iShares also introduced its new ESG U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, with an expense ratio of 10 basis points, to round out its suite of sustainable core ETFs. The suite of seven ETFs is meant to help investors build entire portfolios around sustainable investments.

The indexes that the funds track seek exposure to positive ESG characteristics as well as the risk and return characteristics of the relevant market segment. They exclude tobacco companies, companies involved with controversial weapons, firearms producers and retailers, as well as companies involved in very severe business controversies.

BlackRock projects ETF assets in ESG to grow from $25 billion today to more than $400 billion by 2028.

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