Ethical ETF launches on Borsa Italiana

A new euro-denominated ethical index exchange-traded fund (ETF) started trading on the Borsa Italiana – the Italian stock exchange – today. The Ethical Index Euro ETF (ticker B1ET IM) is the first ethical ETF in Italy.

This is the second ETF from NextTracker, part of the IntesaBci group, under the Beta1 brand. It follows the Beta 1 MSCI Euro (ticker B1EU IM) launched in December last year. The Italian Stock Exchange now lists nine ETFs in total.

ETFs are used as a diversified investment tool for private investors and offer a variety of different portfolio strategies, including shorting and leveraging index exposure within hedge strategies.

According to Deborah Fuhr, head of ETF research at Morgan Stanley in London, with the launch of this new ETF there are 119 ETFs in Europe with 193 listings and assets under management of $10.7 billion. In the US there are 113 ETFs with assets under management of $102.28 billion.

Ethical ETFs are currently relatively niche in Europe. According to Fuhr, Axa Investment Management launched an ethically based EasyETF ASPI Eurozone on March 25 last year in France. Fuhr said Dexia Asset Management plans to launch a sustainable ETF within two months.