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Handelsbanken Fonder and Xact to license Solactive ISS ESG Screened Index Series

Solactive is pleased to announce that Handelsbanken’s two fund management companies, Handelsbanken Fonder AB (active management) and Xact Kapitalförvaltning AB (passive management) license several ESG indices for benchmarking purposes, effectively switching index providers for 20 equity and fixed income indices over the next few months. Handelsbanken Fonder and Xact are Solactive’s first clients to adopt its recently established Solactive ISS ESG Screened Index Series, an index family that aims to track various size and regional segments of the global capital markets, including only companies operating with market standards on ESG controversy screens.

To create the new index series, Solactive teamed up with ESG Provider ISS ESG, which provides independent and high-quality ESG data and analytics. The ESG screen takes into account several factors, which are, among others, derived from the United Nations Global Compact and include a norm-based screening such as verified violation of human and labor rights, involvement in controversial weapons like biological and nuclear weapons as well as anti-personnel mines, and business operations in sectors including fossil fuel, military, cannabis and tobacco.

“We are excited that Handelsbanken Fonder and Xact adopted the indices only a few weeks after their introduction”, says Timo Pfeiffer, Head of Research at Solactive. He continues: “With more global players providing ESG-screened services for their clients, there is clearly a development towards impact investing; ESG is not a trend.”

In a first step, the following funds are set to track Solactive ISS ESG Screened benchmark indices going forward with more index transitions occurring over the next months:

Fund Name Solactive Index Index Status
Handelsbanken Global Småbolag Index Criteria Solactive ISS ESG Screened Developed Markets Small Cap Switch from existing MSCI index
Handelsbanken Euro Corporate Bond Fund Solactive ISS ESG Screened Euro IG Corporate Bond Index Switch from existing Bloomberg Barclays index

Pär Nürnberg, CEO at Xact Kapitalförvaltning, comments, “We are pleased to move our range of global ESG Index Funds to the newly launched ESG index suite by Solactive and ISS ESG. This partnership will facilitate existing as well as upcoming product development in line with growing client demand for sustainable indices we see from our clients.”