A strong management team and sound investment process underpin iShares MSCI Global Sust Dev Goals ETF's Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a cost advantage over competitors, priced within the lowest fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy’s management team earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's effective investment approach earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating.  High volatility exposure is attributed to companies with a higher standard deviation of returns. And a high liquidity exposure is rooted in stocks with higher trading volumes, lending managers more flexibility. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Above Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

Alio Gold

USC Midstream Energy Income Fund

Novan

Amgen

Digital Realty Trust

Weyerhaeuser

Darling Ingredients

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Hormel Foods

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category index on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. iShares MSCI Global Sust Dev Goals ETF earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. The most important driver of the rating is that this fund tracks an index. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. The firm's five-year retention rate of 92% also underpins the process. Lastly, the process is limited by the fund's weak long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category index, which suggests that the process has struggled over that period.

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks to track the performance of the MSCI ACWI Sustainable Impact Index.  The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index. The index is composed of companies that derive a majority of their revenue from products and services that address at least one of the world's major social and environmental challenges as identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

 The portfolio is overweight in consumer defensive and real estate relative to the category average by 14.5 and 14.3 percentage points, respectively. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are technology and financial services, underweight the average by 16.4 and 14.0 percentage points of assets, respectively. The portfolio is composed of 248 holdings and is relatively top-heavy. Of the strategy's assets, 34.8% are concentrated within the top 10 holdings, as opposed to the category’s 25.2% average. And finally, in terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 44% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Above Average

Process

iShares’s team is strong compared with others in the industry, resulting in an Above Average People Pillar rating. There are three managers listed on the fund: Paul Whitehead, Jennifer Hsui, Greg Savage. Experience on the team is abundant, with 18 years of average portfolio management experience. Together, they manage a total of 257 strategies, with a Silver asset-weighted average Morningstar Medalist Rating, demonstrating their potential to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate.  

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

iShares MSCI Global Impact ETF

SDG tracks an index composed of companies whose revenues are driven by products and services that address at least one of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

iShares ESG Aware US Aggregate Bond ETF

IM Rba Responsible Global Allocation ETF

NuShares ESG

Clients looking for more ESG? ESG investing has faced some hard times over the last year or so, but that doesn't mean clients have given up on it.

Multiasset ESG ETF IRBA's Three Biggest ETFs

Invesco MSCI Sustainable Future ETF

Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF

SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes.

The Best ESG ETFs in 2022

Xtrackers MSCI EAFE ESG Leaders Equity ETF

SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets Fossil Fuel Free ETF

Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets ESG Leaders Equity ETF

WisdomTree India Earnings Fund

iShares MSCI EM ESG Optimized ETF

FlexShares STOXX Global ESG Select Index Fund

Columbia International ESG Equity Income ETF

Franklin FTSE India ETF

First Trust Chindia ETF

HDFC Bank Limited

Columbia India Consumer ETF

iShares MSCI India ETF

Nifty India Financials ETF

iShares India 50 ETF

WisdomTree India ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund

iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF

First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF

NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF

Invesco India ETF

iShares MSCI India Small Cap ETF

In this research piece, we discuss the possible pathway to India's environmental goals, as well as select investment opportunities that reflect ongoing progress across the ESG landscape. India fares well in disclosures with 97% of MSCI India constituents publishing sustainability reports.

Harnessing Growth: India's Transition Reflected In Sustainability Commitment

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

By Elisabeth Kashner, CFA Innovation in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space just reclaimed the shareholder vote for those looking to put their money in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) focused investments. The ESG conundrum—the trade-off between active risk and impact investing—is no more.

Can ESG Investors Finally Have It All?

ALPS Clean Energy ETF

Global X CleanTech ETF

Kraneshares MSCI China Environment Index ETF

Invesco Solar ETF

Earth Day celebrations can include selecting the best ETF's that focus on climate change.

Earth friendly ETFs

In the spirit of Earth Day, investors can turn to environmental responsibility-themed exchange traded fund strategies. Environmental responsibility refers to our responsibility to use natural resources carefully, minimize damage, and ensure these resources will be available for future generations.

Earth Day: Go Green with Clean Energy ETFs

iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF

First Trust EIP Carbon Impact ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ESG ETF

Workplace Equality

FlexShares STOXX US ESG Impact Index Fund

Amplify Etho Climate Leadership US ETF

 JPMorgan Carbon Transition U.S. Equity ETF

Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF

Impact Shares NAACP Minority Empowerment ETF 

NuShares ESG U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF

Barclays Bank PLC - ZC SP REDEEM 17/09/2024 USD 50 - GMTN Sr A

Impact Shares Trust I - Impact Shares Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF

iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF

iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF

Essentially unheard of a decade ago, investing strategies that screen holdings for adherence to Environmental, Social and Governance values have captured increasing investor interest. Tony Campos, Head of Sustainable Investment, Americas, FTSE Russell, joins the podcast to explain how the process of ESG screening works at FTSE Russell.

From Fad To Sustainable Trend: The ESG Juggernaut Continues To Pick Up Steam (Podcast)

iShares MSCI Denmark ETF

First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF

The best impact investing ETFs for Q4 2020 are FAN, SDG, and EDEN.

Best Impact Investing ETFs for Q4 2020

iShares MSCI Kokusai ETF

Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF

US Vegan Climate ETF

Pacer Funds Trust - Pacer Military Times Best Employers ETF

ClearBridge Dividend Strategy ESG ETF

More than ever, investors recognize the risks and opportunities associated with the low carbon transition and are incorporating a wider set of considerations into their decision making.

Targeted Sustainability

According to Morningstar, the global sustainable funds universe experienced net inflows of nearly $46 billion during the first quarter of 2020, compared with net outflows of $385 billion for the overall funds universe.

COVID-19 Drives ESG Demand

iShares MSCI USA ESG Optimized ETF

Cost-cutting has certainly been a prime measure for businesses to stave off a pandemic-inducing recession and environmental, social and governance (ESG) is one way to achieve this goal. It’s something investors can capitalize on with ESG funds.

Investors Can Capitalize on ESG’s Cost-Cutting Benefits

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider powerhouse BlackRock is ready to double down when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the company would begin implementing more ESG-tilted endeavors, including more sustainability screeners as well as heading for the exits on certain fossil fuel investments.

ESG Investing Gets BlackRock’s Vote of Confidence

The best ESG ETFs for Q3 2020 are SDG, SUSA, and ESGU.

Best Performing ESG ETFs for Q3 2020

News for iShares MSCI Global Impact ETF ETF (SDG)