Amundi is set to launch Europe’s first CAC 40 ESG ETF that offers exposure to large-cap French equities.
The ETF will track the CAC 40 ESG index which was created by Euronext in partnership with Vigeo Eiris, an affiliate of Moody’s, in March.
Taking the CAC Large 60 index as its starting point, it identifies the 40 French companies that score best from an ESG perspective.
It also excludes companies involved in coal, controversial weapons, tobacco or are in conflict with the United Nations Global Compact Principles.
The index rebalances quarterly and each issuer is capped at 10%.
Fannie Wurtz, head of Amundi ETF, Indexing & Smart Beta and head of distribution and wealth division at Amundi, commented: “We strongly believe that ETFs and index management have a key role to play in the democratisation of the access to responsible investing and the support of a transition to a more sustainable world.
“We warmly welcome Euronext’s initiative and the launch of the CAC 40 ESG index and we are delighted to be able to provide investors with access to this index through an ETF in the coming weeks.”
Stéphane Boujnah, CEO and chairman of the board at Euronext, added: “This is an important step for Euronext to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy, following the launch of the CAC 40 ESG.
“The forthcoming Amundi ETF on this index will allow investors to finance sustainable projects and companies, in line with the UN Global Compact Principles and the SRI label for sustainable and responsible investment.”
In March, Euronext said BNP Paribas Asset Management and Lyxor have also confirmed their interest in launching ETFs tracking the CAC 40 ESG index.
Earlier this week, Amundi expanded its ESG range with the launch of an emerging markets SRI ex-fossil fuels ETF, the Amundi Index MSCI EM Asia SRI UCITS ETF (SADA).
