Lytle Michael John Tabula ETF

Tabula survey reveals lack of innovation in fixed income ESG ETFs

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Tabula. New research from specialist fixed income ETF provider Tabula Investment Management reveals that European professional investors want to see more innovation in fixed income ESG ETFs …

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Michael John Lytle Tabula CEO


82% of professional investors want to see more innovation among fixed income ESG ETFs

Exclusion of the most harmful companies is the most salient product feature

Outperformance is more important than tracking, indicating that investors see ESG as an opportunity as well as a requirement

Tabula has recently signed the UN-supported Principles of Responsible Investment and is keen to understand and incorporate the views of investors as it implements those principles.

“We found that 96% of investors that we surveyed are already using ESG ETFs, which is a remarkable level of penetration in only a few years,” says Tabula CEO Michael John Lytle. “However, in fixed income specifically, the vast majority of respondents want to see more innovation, broader coverage of exposures and more transparency around the effect of the fund’s approach.”

The research also sheds light on specific features that professional investors look for in ESG ETFs. The top answer, cited by over 70% of respondents, was the exclusion of the most harmful companies.

“The idea of avoiding harm is clearly at the forefront of investors’ minds and the exclusion of certain companies – for example, those violating the UN Global Compact or manufacturing controversial weapons – is becoming a minimum requirement,” says Lytle. “This is a great starting point but not the whole story.”

The survey also revealed an interesting preference for outperformance potential over benchmark tracking.

“Many existing ESG ETFs are designed to closely track traditional benchmark indices,” says Lytle. “However, 75% of our respondents saw outperformance potential as important, compared to 25% preferring to minimise tracking error. This could indicate that investors are now seeing ESG as a driver of long-term performance, not just a qualitative overlay.” This ties in with strong demand (63% of respondents) for more targeted products focused on issues like climate change and diversity.

“Responsible investing is evolving rapidly,” says Lytle. “This research gives us valuable insights into the broad trends and, crucially, the different views and priorities across countries and investor types. Creating innovative ESG ETFs that meet investor needs is a challenge for providers and one that Tabula is actively embracing.”


Focus on the UK

100% of UK professional investors surveyed are already using ESG ETFs

Exclusion of the most harmful companies is the top priority, cited by 95% of respondents

85% of respondents would like to see better corporate credit ESG ETFs

Focus on Italy

100% of Italian professional investors surveyed are already using ESG ETFs

Exclusion of the most harmful companies is the top priority, cited by 95% of respondents

Ability to target specific issues e.g. climate change and diversity is also important

Focus on Germany

95% of German professional investors surveyed are already using ESG ETFs

100% would like better coverage of the different fixed income asset classes, and more than 50% want greater transparency

95% see potential for outperformance as an important product feature

Focus on Switzerland

100% of Swiss professional investors surveyed are already using ESG ETFs

Potential for outperformance is the most valued product feature, followed by exclusion of the most harmful companies

90% of respondents would like better coverage of the different fixed income asset classes

Source : ETFWorld.co.uk


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