Bloomberg And MSCI Expand ESG Fixed Income Index Suite Into Canada

TORONTO, April 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg and MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical investment decision support tools worldwide, today announced the availability of a series of global environmental, social and governance (ESG) fixed income indices for the Canadian market. The indices are co-branded as the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Canada ESG Indices and are currently available on the Bloomberg Terminal.

A 2018 Greenwich Associates research report featuring insights from more than 300 decision makers at large firms found that the majority of North American participants are incorporating  ESG into their investment strategy and are making significant progress in the space. Globally, 73 percent of respondents are considering incorporating ESG strategies into their portfolios.

"As the inclusion of ESG principles in North American investment strategies continues to grow, we are delighted to expand our ESG index suite with new indices specifically designed to support Canadian investors," said Chris Hackel, Index Product Manager, Bloomberg. "MSCI has been a great partner as Bloomberg evolves our index solutions to meet the needs of institutional investors around the world."

"In recent years, we have seen increased interest from the Canadian institutional market in incorporating ESG principles into their investment processes," said Eric Moen, Head of ESG Products for MSCI ESG Research. "We are pleased to be partnering with Bloomberg to launch these new indices and provide fixed income investors with the tools and transparency they need to effectively benchmark to ESG investment performance."

BlackRock is among the first clients to license the index for a suite of Canadian ESG ETFs available starting March 21, 2019. The indices include the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Canadian Aggregate ESG Focus Index and the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI 1-5 year Canadian Aggregate ESG Focus Index.

"Clients are increasingly looking to pursue a more sustainable approach to achieving their investment goals," said Pat Chiefalo, Managing Director, Head of iShares, BlackRock Canada. "We are thrilled to work with Bloomberg and MSCI to grow the ESG fixed income category and further enhance the offering for Canadian investors."

This announcement is an expansion of the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI ESG Fixed Income Index suite, which includes a range of investment grade aggregate and corporate index benchmarks for investors who are aiming to incorporate ESG considerations into their strategic asset allocation. Bloomberg also offers the Bloomberg Barclays Canada Aggregate Index for the Canadian market.

Bloomberg provides an independent, transparent approach to indexing for customers across the globe. For more information, please visit this link.

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company's strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg's enterprise solutions build on the company's core strength: leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

About MSCI

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 45 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. To learn more, please visit www.msci.com. 

SOURCE Bloomberg

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