By PIMCO. The conditions for a relatively quick and robust rebound rest on the success in containing the virus within a reasonable horizon, and a well-calibrated economic policy response.

PIMCO has teamed up with smart beta index specialists Research Affiliates to launch a multi-factor US equity ETF with ESG considerations. The PIMCO RAFI ESG US ETF (RAFE US) has launched on NYSE Arca and comes with an expense ratio of 0.29%. Andrew Pyne, Executive Vice President and strategist focused on PIMCO’s equity solutions, commented, “The PIMCO RAFI ESG US ETF marries the performance potential of fundamental indexing with a unique approach to ESG, helping to drive the potential for improved returns over the broader market and social responsibility for investors.”

PIMCO has unveiled the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ESG ETF (EMNT US). The fund, which has listed on NYSE Arca, offers actively managed exposure to short-duration debt instruments while focusing on issuers with strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. For all intents and purposes, the ETF presents an ESG alternative to the $13.6bn PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT US), PIMCO’s flagship ETF. Jerome Schneider, Head of Short-Term Portfolio Management at PIMCO, said, “This active ETF is designed to provide capital preservation, daily liquidity, and attractive return potential to investors who seek to invest in companies with best-in-class ESG practices.”

Ten new ETFs or ETF share classes were listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019, according to the exchange’s latest ETP monthly update, taking the total number of ETF listings on the exchange to 1,245, available through 1,794 different share classes. ETF providers issuing products during the month included Amundi, DWS, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Invesco, State Street Global Advisors, and UBS.

Invesco has launched a currency-hedged share class for the PIMCO US Dollar Short Maturity Source UCITS ETF on London Stock Exchange. The new share class trades under the ticker MIST LN and hedges exposure between the US dollar and the share’s trading currency, pound sterling. The fund was one of the first actively managed ETFs to be listed in Europe and offers investors access to PIMCO’s global cash management expertise.

Goldman Sachs has launched the Goldman Sachs Access Ultra Short Bond ETF (GSST US) on Cboe BZX. The actively managed fund provides exposure to high quality fixed income securities while maintaining portfolio duration of less than one year.

WisdomTree has teamed up with fixed income specialists PIMCO to launch three ETF model portfolios aimed at US-based investment advisors. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with PIMCO, a leader in fixed income investing, to provide advisors with best-in-class model portfolios,” said Tom Skrobe, WisdomTree Head of Client Solutions.

PIMCO Canada has launched a US dollar-denominated ETF share class for the PIMCO Monthly Income Fund on Toronto Stock Exchange. “An ETF series provides our Canadian investors with an additional access point to the established PIMCO Monthly Income Fund,” said Stuart Graham, Managing Director and Head of PIMCO Canada.

By Mike Amey, Head of Sterling Portfolio Management and ESG Strategies at PIMCO.

The United Nations has already provided the framework with the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and investors like PIMCO stand ready to provide much needed financing to support these targets, which include bolstering infrastructure, ending poverty and making the planet greener. But to achieve these ambitious goals, we believe bond issuers, whether they are governments or companies, have an essential part to play by aligning debt issuance to specifically support the SDGs.

State Street Global Advisors has listed an accumulating share class for its SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond UCITS ETF on Deutsche Börse. The introduction of an accumulating share class provides investors with the option to automatically re-invest all coupon payments received within the fund. The fund tracks a country-constrained index designed to provide a broad measure of the performance of liquid local currency emerging markets debt.