BNP Paribas Easy has reported that its ‘ex-Controversial Weapons’ ETFs, including European, Japan and emerging market funds, have seen strong inflows this year.
Isabelle Bourcier, head of ETF & Index solutions within BNP Paribas Easy.
Between 1 January and 30 August 2017, the BNP Paribas Easy MSCI EMU ex-Controversial Weapons ETF (EEMU), the BNP Paribas Easy MSCI Japan ex-Controversial Weapons ETF (EJAP) and the BNP Paribas MSCI Emerging Markets ex-Controversial Weapons ETF (EEMK) collected approximately €165 million, €90m and $233m. Assets under management (AUM) in EEMU, EJAP and EEMK stand at €259m, €349m and $304m respectively.
The funds track MSCI indices which provide broad exposure to large- and mid-cap equities listed in the eurozone, Japan and emerging markets while excluding companies involved in the production of controversial weapons such as cluster bombs, landmines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium weapons.
Isabelle Bourcier, head of ETF & Index solutions within BNP Paribas Easy, commented: “BNP Paribas Easy ex-Controversial Weapons range offers a unique answer, straightforward to explain as it reflects the most common sense criteria for investing in a responsible manner including at the retail level. Professional investors are increasingly interested in our socially responsible investing (SRI) ETFs which offer a more complete approach to responsible investment.”
EEMU and EEMK have gained 7.4% and 11.1% year-to-date (YTD) and come with total expense ratios (TER) of 0.25% and 0.35% respectively. EJAP has lost 1.9% YTD due to the yen depreciating against the euro. Its TER is 0.25%.
According to BNP Paribas, the positive investor interest in the range is mainly explained by the global interest of clients into environmental, social and governance (ESG) thematic ETFs which have become far more popular this year. Additionally, the flows reflect growing interest from clients to redirect their investment strategies through ETFs to capture the benefits of the fund structure. Finally, the firm credits the surge in demand to the expertise of BNP Paribas’ sales teams and portfolio managers.