Index provider MSCI and financial data vendor Bloomberg have teamed up to launch a new range of indexes incorporating ESG factors for emerging market fixed income.
The Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Emerging Market Asia Credit ESG index suite contains three index variants that track the performance of emerging market US dollar-denominated credit debt in the region, excluding Japan.
The indexes will also feature measures for capturing ESG exposure in a bid to meet what MSCI and Bloomberg believe is a growing demand for fixed income benchmarks with a sustainability bent.
“We are reaching a tipping point where investor demand for seamless integration of sustainability principles in investments is driving demand for new indexes, tools and analytics across all asset classes,” said Jana Haines, head of index products for the Americas and EMEA and global head of fixed income index products at MSCI.
“Conversations about ESG investing have accelerated on the back of the current pandemic, with investors also looking to diversify their portfolios and search for yields with emerging market assets, especially in Asia,” added Ji Zhuang, APAC head of indices at Bloomberg.
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