Erste Asset Management is expanding its product range with two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs): ERSTE ETF GLOBAL EQUITIES UCITS ETF (ISIN IE000GVBJMO6) and ERSTE ETF US EQUITIES UCITS ETF (IE000UKN7GP4). This gives investors access to broadly diversified equity investments in an exchange-traded fund format.
With these new ETFs, Erste Asset Management combines traditional index investing with its long-standing expertise in sustainability. Both funds follow a passive investment strategy and each tracks a Solactive index developed in-house. The index construction incorporates core sustainability criteria in line with Erste Asset Management’s ESG approach.
“With the new Erste ETFs, we are creating simple and transparent access to the global and US equity markets. They are suitable as long-term building blocks in a portfolio and combine the advantages of exchange-traded index funds with Erste Asset Management’s sustainability approach. In Carne Group, we have the ideal partner at our side for the launch of these two products”, says Heinz Bednar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Management Board of Erste Asset Management.
Access to global US equity markets
The ERSTE ETF GLOBAL EQUITIES UCITS ETF offers exposure to the 250 largest, liquid companies from developed markets, including shares from the US, Europe, Japan and other regions. To define the investment universe, the SolactiveDM Large Cap 250 Base EUR Index NTR* (the index is calculated by Solactive AG) was developed in collaboration with the index provider Solactive. The fund tracks this index as closely as possible. It is designed as a global equity core component and is aimed at investors who wish to invest broadly across international equity markets while attaching importance to an index-based structure and sustainability filters.
The ERSTE ETF US EQUITIES UCITS ETF invests in about 250 large companies headquartered or operating in the United States. It thus offers focused exposure to the US equity market, currently including sectors such as information technology, finance, healthcare, communication services, and the industrial sector. The fund tracks the Solactive USA Large Cap 250 Base USD Index NTR* as closely as possible.
Both ETFs will be tradable on Deutsche Börse’s XETRA trading platform from 16 July. From 22 July, the products will also be available for advisory and purchase at branches of Erste Bank and Austrian saving banks. The fund type in terms of profit allocation is accumulating with a total expense ratio of 0.25% per year. Both ETFs are classified under Article 8 of the EU Disclosure Regulation and therefore invest only in companies that meet Erste AM’s basic sustainability criteria.
Alliance with Carne Global Fund Managers
The funds’ management company is Carne Global Fund Managers (Ireland) Limited, Europe’s largest independent third-party management company (ManCo) and a leading provider of fund regulation and governance solutions. Founded in 2004, the company provides regulatory, risk management and independent board member services to over 700 asset managers and oversees assets of more than USD 1trillion. Erste Asset Management GmbH acts as investment manager, contributing its investment and ESG expertise.
“We’re delighted to support Erste Asset Management on the launch of these new ETFs. As more asset managers expand their ETF capabilities, there is increasing demand for operating models that combine regulatory expertise, governance and operational infrastructure within a single solution. We’re proud to work with Erste through our ETF Platform and look forward to continuing our partnership as its ETF offering evolves”, says Daniel Osborne, Managing Director and Head of ETF Solutions at Carne Group.