IN over a year since its launch, the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF has surpassed US$1.22 billion in assets under management (AUM).
This was buoyed by a recent investment worth US$708 million from Finnish pension fund Ilmarinen, said a release from asset manager BlackRock on Wednesday (Jan 8).
Managed by BlackRock and anchored by Prudential, the fund was launched on Sep 14, 2023, in close collaboration with the Singapore Exchange (SGX), with an initial AUM of US$426 million. This made it the largest equity exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched in Singapore.
The fund tracks the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index, which has TSMC, Tencent, Alibaba, HDFC Bank and Meituan among its largest constituents.
With its new AUM, the fund is now one of the largest Singapore-domiciled ETFs in terms of AUM, said BlackRock.
Deborah Ho, country head of Singapore and regional head of South-east Asia at BlackRock, noted that the fund has continued to attract interest from investors across the world, “highlighting the growing demand for transition investing within Singapore, the region and beyond”.
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“Singapore has had a major role in global climate leadership and is well-positioned to serve as a regional platform to facilitate cross-border public and private finance for the low-carbon transition,” she added.
Juha Venalainen, an equity strategist at Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, pointed out that adverse climate events are becoming more frequent, with new business opportunities arising as governments worldwide seek solutions to combat global warming and mitigate associated risks.
He noted that the ETF would allow investors to gain access to “a well-diversified exposure of Asian companies that outperform their peers on climate-related criteria”.
With the success of the fund as “a landmark achievement”, Michael Syn, president of SGX Group, said that this also reinforces Singapore’s standing as a global leader in sustainable finance and climate action.
