HANetf has announced the launch of Sprott Copper Miners ESG-Screened UCITS ETF (ticker: CPPR), designed to offer investors pure-play and ESG-screened exposure to copper mining equities.
The firm writes that the investment opportunity is exclusively focused on the upstream opportunity offered by copper miners, which stand to benefit from anticipated long-term global energy transition trends.
HANetf and Sprott Asset Management write that they decided to launch the ETF following conversations with a large institutional investor in the DACH region that felt there was not a copper mining ETF that satisfied its ESG criteria.
Copper is already the third largest metals market by US dollar value and demand is expected to rise due to its essential role in the clean energy transition. Copper’s high conductivity, tensile strength, and corrosion resistance make it vital to electricity distribution and transmission.
Copper is also used in large quantities for the electric vehicle (EV) industry, which is seeing rapid growth as countries pledge to decarbonise their transport networks.
Miners could be well-placed to benefit from the current supply and demand imbalance when it comes to copper.
CPPR tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Copper Miners ESG Screened Index and seeks to ensure compliance with SFDR Article 8 requirements through ESG reviews by Skarn Associates, controversy review by Sustainalytics, and additional screens for compliance with the United Nations Global Compact.
CPPR is the third ETF that HANetf and Sprott Asset Management have launched together, following Sprott Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (ticker: URNM) and Sprott Energy Transition Materials UCITS ETF (ticker: SETM).
URNM was launched in 2022, and provides exposure to uranium miners as well as physical uranium. The fund became Europe’s fastest-growing uranium ETF this year, exceeding USD222 million AUM. URNM has a US-listed sister ETF, Sprott Uranium Miners ETF, with USD1.45 billion AUM, and also invests in Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, which has CAD5 billion AUM.
SETM was launched in March of this year, and provides exposure to the companies that are providing the critical materials needed for the global clean energy transition, such as rare earths, silver, copper, lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite.
John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, comments: “Despite the size of the copper metal market and growing investor interest in the metal as the energy transition gains momentum, it’s been challenging for investors to gain targeted exposure to copper miners.
“We’re pleased to be able to offer a solution through our continuing work with HANetf. CPPR has been designed to focus primarily on copper mining companies that derive the majority of their revenue and/or assets from copper.”
Hector McNeil, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HANetf comments: “We are delighted to be launching Sprott Copper Miners ESG-Screened UCITS ETF with Sprott Asset Management. The ETF is the first opportunity for European investors to get ESG-screened copper exposure, and we believe this is timely given the role copper will play in the global energy transition.
Sprott are a great partner and experts in the metals and mining space. CPPR is a highly innovative ETF which similar to others in the HANetf range look to make a brown industry greener. Also it’s a great example of working with a sophisticated end investor to develop and issue a highly innovative strategy in a timely fashion.”
