ISHARES MSCI JAPAN ESG ENHANCED UCITS ETF USD (DIST)
| Issuer: iShares |
| Asset Class: Equity |
| TER: 15bps |
| Trading Currency: USD |
| Pays Income: False |
| Listing Date: 12 Mar 2019 |
| Ticker: EEJD |
| ISIN: IE00BHZPJ346 |
This investment vehicle provides targeted exposure to the Japanese equity market through a lens of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. The strategy is designed to track a benchmark index that specifically selects Japanese companies demonstrating strong sustainability profiles. The underlying index construction begins with a broad universe of Japanese stocks and then applies a series of screens. It systematically excludes companies involved in controversial business activities such as tobacco, thermal coal, and certain weapons. Furthermore, it filters out businesses with low overall ESG ratings, ensuring a baseline of responsible corporate conduct.
After the exclusion process, the remaining companies are re-weighted to enhance the portfolio's overall ESG characteristics and significantly reduce its carbon footprint compared to the standard parent market index. This methodology is aligned with the European Union's Climate Transition Benchmark (CTB) requirements, which aim to support the transition to a lower-carbon economy in line with the Paris Agreement goals. The fund offers investors a way to participate in the potential growth of Japan's leading corporations while simultaneously aligning their capital with sustainability objectives.
This approach is suitable for investors who wish to maintain a core holding in Japanese equities but are also conscious of the long-term risks and opportunities associated with climate change and other ESG factors. By tilting towards firms with superior ESG scores and lower carbon intensity, the portfolio seeks to offer a more resilient return profile over the long term. It presents a diversified and cost-effective solution for integrating responsible investing principles into a developed market equity allocation, capturing the performance of Japanese companies that are leaders in their respective industries from a sustainability standpoint.
