BlackRock Launches iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF with $426 Million Anchored by Prudential with Investors Including Singapore Temasek & Singlife, 0.18% Annual Management Fee & Tracks MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index
14th September 2023 | Hong Kong
BlackRock has launched the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF (Exchange traded fund) with $426 million anchored by Prudential with investors including Singapore Temasek & Singlife. The (iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF) annual management fee is 0.18%, with the ETF tracking the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index. BlackRock: “At $426 million the Fund is the largest equity ETF launch in Singapore to-date. Launched in close collaboration between BlackRock and key partners Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) and MSCI, the Fund represents an evolutionary step in the development of the global low-carbon transition investment ecosystem, giving investors convenient access to best-in-class companies across Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) committed to reducing carbon emissions. The Fund is the third iShares ETF climate building block built to track MSCI Climate Action Indexes, coming three months after launches in the U.S. and Japan. Priced with an annual management fee of just 0.18%, the Fund is built to track the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index that provides exposure to the top 50% of companies in each GICS® sector based on factors including approved science-based targets, management of climate risks, and green business revenue. For investors with low-carbon transition objectives, the Fund opens access to pioneering companies at the forefront of the low-carbon transition. BlackRock transition investing platform manages around $115 billion assets, with indexing $56 billion, active $41 billion and private markets $18 billion.
“ BlackRock Launches iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF with $426 Million Anchored by Prudential with Investors Including Singapore Temasek & Singlife, 0.18% Annual Management Fee & Tracks MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index “
Peter Loehnert, APAC Head of iShares & Index Investments at BlackRock: “Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest growing region for energy transition investment, offering transformational opportunities for investors with climate-focused objectives. Investors globally are increasingly choosing iShares ETFs as ideal vehicles to align portfolio allocations and implement low-carbon transition goals. This new ETF will provide them with an innovative, unique and powerful building block to access companies in the region leading the transition. As the world’s largest provider of ETFs, our aim is to offer clients an unrivalled choice of products to help them achieve their investment goals. We are pleased that our close partnership with SGX Group and MSCI has helped bring the fund to Singapore, a state that has had an outsized impact in global climate leadership.”
Don Guo, Group Chief Investment Officer, Prudential plc: “Prudential emphasizes the critical importance of climate investing in Asia, considering the region’s unique and diverse socio-economic environment. We believe there are tremendous investment opportunities to foster scalable positive change in Asia. As anchor investor of the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF, we are investing in companies demonstrating transition leadership, consistent with our aspiration to facilitate a systematic green transformation across all sectors. By strengthening the climate resilience of our investment portfolios, Prudential contributes to the long-term sustainability of the region. Strong partnerships such as this initiative will be key to achieving a just and inclusive transition to a more sustainable future for all.”
Michael Syn, Senior Managing Director & Head of Equities, SGX Group: “SGX Group plays a vital role in galvanising stakeholders within the financial ecosystem to mobilise capital and develop solutions to effect real change in addressing climate change. With the market and investors signalling their readiness for it, we have been working in partnership with BlackRock and MSCI to create a new global ecosystem of climate-related instruments such as this ETF and the climate action derivatives that were launched earlier this year. By providing these tools, we are supporting investors in building a diversified portfolio of climate-conscious assets, enabling them to do their part for the transition while benefiting from the potential financial upside.”
Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director (Development & International) & Chief Sustainability Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore: “The successful launch of the iShares MSCI Asia ex- Japan Climate Action ETF is the outcome of close collaboration between SGX Group, MSCI and BlackRock, and adds to the suite of innovative products in Singapore that supports transition and decarbonisation efforts in Asia. Looking ahead, Singapore welcomes the development of solutions that facilitate decarbonisation, while meeting the investment and risk management needs of issuers, asset owners and investors in the region.”
Kyung-Ah Park, Head, ESG Investment Management & Managing Director, Sustainability, Temasek: “As a sustainability focused long-term investor, we are committed to catalysing the transition of the real economy and accelerating pathways towards net zero in line with climate science. The launch of more climate-aligned products such as the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF leverages Singapore’s financial hub infrastructure to provide investors with expanded opportunities to support companies committed to reducing their carbon emissions and contributes to the broader low carbon market ecosystem.”
Pearlyn Phau, Group CEO, Singlife: “Congratulations to BlackRock iShares on the timely launch and the successful listing of the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF. This presents an unparalleled opportunity for investors to invest in the best-in-class Asia-Pacific companies. We are pleased to be a co-seed investor and look forward to how this will drive green revenue while lowering carbon emissions. Singlife has been invested in the sustainability space since launching our sustainability programme in June 2022. As of December 2022, we have committed over S$500 million towards sustainable investments.”
BlackRock iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF
Anchored by Prudential, one of the region’s largest asset owners, and with a consortium of investors including Temasek and Singlife at $426 million, the Fund is the largest equity ETF launch in Singapore to-date.
Launched in close collaboration between BlackRock and key partners Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) and MSCI, the Fund represents an evolutionary step in the development of the global low-carbon transition investment ecosystem, giving investors convenient access to best-in-class companies across Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) committed to reducing carbon emissions. The Fund is the third iShares ETF climate building block built to track MSCI Climate Action Indexes, coming three months after launches in the U.S. and Japan. Priced with an annual management fee of just 0.18%, the Fund is built to track the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index that provides exposure to the top 50% of companies in each GICS® sector based on factors including approved science-based targets, management of climate risks, and green business revenue. For investors with low-carbon transition objectives, the Fund opens access to pioneering companies at the forefront of the low-carbon transition.
BlackRock transition investing platform manages around $115 billion assets, indexing $56 billion, active $41 billion and private markets $18 billion.
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable.
About iShares
iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 1300+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$3.21 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock.
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