LGIM and EPIC Launch Optical Technology and Photonics ETF Tracking Solactive Index
Solactive is delighted to announce that Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) launched the L&G Optical Technology & Photonics ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF tracking the Solactive EPIC Optical Technology & Photonics Index. Optical Technology and Photonics are the branches of science that explore the properties of light and vision. With their ubiquitous applications, they have become part of our everyday lives. They are present in objects and technologies from scanners at check-out counters, lasers in the automotive industry, smartphones, televisions, and LED lighting, to more advanced ones, such as medical diagnostics and security systems. The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC), a non-profit industry advocate for Photonics and a leading authority in the industry, has collaborated with index designer Markus Barth at Anatase Ltd, Solactive, and LGIM to develop the index.
Using a dynamic designed investment strategy, which leverages granular data on companies engaged in the optical technology & photonics industry as provided by EPIC, the ETF delivers a specialized portfolio of companies. LGIM’s ETF is based on LGIM’s design process to leverage expert proprietary datasets and active research, which is systematically and rules-based captured by the underlying index.
Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer of Solactive, commented: “With the industries’ and daily-life technological advances, there is room for optical technology and photonics to grow. Judging by what we have achieved so far in terms of technological development, we are going to increasingly need laser technology, sensors, and many other applications that only exist because of this science. The new product aims to capture this trend within the thematic environment. As a global leader in the thematic space, Solactive is pleased that LGIM and EPIC have chosen us for this launch and we expect to expand this cooperation further in the future.”
“Photonics is a major enabler of a cleaner environment across myriad industries,” said EPIC Director General Carlos Lee. “The future of our planet depends on creating greener solutions to traditional manufacturing processes and photonics technologies facilitate this evolution across numerous industries. We may not know what the future looks like, but we are certain that photonics technologies will take us there!”