DWS has responded to demand for short duration corporate bond exposure and environmentally and socially responsible assets with the launch of the new Xtrackers II ESG EUR Corporate Bond Short Duration UCITS ETF. The Euro-denominated ETF tracks the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Corporate Sustainable & SRI 0-5 Year Index. It complements sister fund Xtrackers II ESG EUR Corporate Bond UCITS ETF, which is based on the same bond index family, and five equity ETFs based on MSCI ESG indices.
Simon Klein, Global Head of Passive Sales at DWS, says: “Our latest launch reflects DWS’s strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility. It builds on approximately EUR 4.7bn under management across our ESG ETFs globally, and our strong focus on corporate governance and on ESG thought leadership.”
Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Corporate Sustainable & SRI 0-5 Year Index is a fixed-income benchmark tracking short-term, Euro-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds with a minimum MSCI ESG Rating of BBB. The index also negatively screens business activities including controversial weapons, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, adult entertainment, genetically modified organisms (GMO), nuclear power and civilian firearms, as well as companies involved in severe controversies. It was created in October 2019 and is back-tested to 2013.
The Xtrackers II ESG EUR Corporate Bond Short Duration UCITS ETF is a direct, physical replication ETF. It has an all-in fee of 0.16 per cent. It began trading on the London Stock Exchange on 28 July and Germany’s Xetra on 3 August, and will list on Switzerland’s SIX exchange in coming weeks.
