Hartford Funds has launched an actively managed, ESG-focused fixed income ETF, the Hartford Sustainable Income ETF (CBOE: HSUN), which will be sub-advised by Wellington Management Company LLP.
The firm writes that HSUN seeks to provide current income and long-term total return, within a sustainability framework. HSUN will invest across an array of fixed income sectors including Investment Grade, High Yield, Bank Loans, and Emerging Market Debt. In addition, the ETF will incorporate a sustainability framework as part of its principal investment strategy. The ETF will track its performance against the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. HSUN will be managed by the same portfolio management team that currently manages The Hartford Strategic Income Fund. Campe Goodman, Joseph F. Marvan, and Robert Burn will serve as the ETF’s portfolio managers.
“We are excited to launch a multi-sector bond fund that uses a sustainable investing approach in an ETF structure,” says Vernon Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Funds. “The launch of this actively managed ETF product further demonstrates our commitment to providing options that not only help investors seek to achieve their long-term investment goals, but also provide investors with the opportunity to invest in a product that uses a sustainable investing approach.”
Wellington Management will use its internally developed sustainability framework to identify issuers it believes have demonstrated a commitment to sustainable practices. These issuers include those that Wellington believes can have a positive social and/or environmental impact, are leaders or are demonstrating improvement in ESG characteristics based on Wellington’s proprietary insights, and/or those that Wellington engages with on ESG characteristics to improve ESG disclosure and best practices.
