Jason Collins
iShares, in collaboration with NAB Private Wealth, has launched three iShares ETFs designed for Australian investors. The products offer a low-cost, well-diversified investment solution to help Australians achieve their long-term financial and sustainable investment goals.
Based on NAB’s client insights, there is strong demand from Australian investors for simple, low-cost, holistic investment options that they can use to build a globally diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds. Additionally, they would like to gain exposures to global megatrends like technological innovation and sustainability that are otherwise more complex or costly to access.
The addition of these funds seeks to meet investors’ evolving needs, complementing BlackRock’s local suite of investment solutions to give Australian investors more choice in how they meet their long-term wealth creation goals, while embedding sustainability considerations into their investment portfolios.
The new funds listing are the iShares Balanced ESG ETF (IBAL), the iShares High Growth ESG ETF (IGRO) and the iShares Future Tech Innovators ETF (ITEK).
The iShares Balanced ESG ETF (IBAL)and iShares High Growth ESG ETF (IGRO) seek to provide investors with a core exposure to a globally diversified, sustainable multi-asset portfolio based on balanced or growth risk considerations. Priced competitively at 22 basis points (bps), the multi-asset portfolios use iShares screened and sustainable building blocks where available and aim to hold targeted exposures to companies with favourable ESG characteristics relative to their sector peers within the broader market.
The BlackRock Multi-Asset Strategy and Solutions (MASS) team will set and review the long-term Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) of these funds. The MASS team has managed multi-asset portfolios for Australian clients since 1992, with approximately A$50 billion in assets1across its diversified funds range, model portfolios, absolute return strategies, and custom mandates.
The iShares Future Tech Innovators ETF (ITEK) will be the first of its kind in the Australian ETF market. By drawing on the global iShares megatrend product range, ITEK is made up of an evenly weighted portfolio of six complementary iShares thematic ETFs. The fund seeks to offer investors a well-diversified exposure to global technological innovation trends including Electric Vehicles and Driving Technology, Healthcare, Robotics and Automation, Digitalisation, Clean Energy and Smart City Infrastructure.
Jason Collins, Head of iShares and Index Investments, BlackRock Australasia, said, “In partnership with NAB Private Wealth, we can build on our commitment of supporting more Australian investors on their investment journey with the introduction of three iShares ETFs -iShares Balanced ESG ETF (IBAL), iShares High Growth ESG ETF (IGRO) and iShares Future Tech Innovators ETF (ITEK) -that are specifically tailored to meet their long-term financial and sustainable investment goals.
“We believe these funds present a holistic offering for Australian investors at a compelling price point. Based on our shared experience with NAB Private Wealth, ESG considerations are a key priority for Australian investors as they seek to build resilience into their portfolios by gaining exposure to sustainability-related opportunities over the long term. Additionally, the rise of millennials and new self-directed investors have given rise to megatrend investing as they seek to take advantage of the transformative growth trends that will reshape how we live and work in the future.”
Chantal Giles, Head of Wealth, BlackRock Australasia said, “Our iShares suite, launched in partnership with NAB Private Wealth, presents an affordable, holistic investment option for investors looking to build a broadly diversified portfolio in one simple trade.
“Investors are increasingly looking to the convenience of ETFs to take the necessary steps to meet their long-term financial and sustainable investment goals in the context of their whole portfolio.
“The fact that anyone can access these opportunities, and the underlying transformative trends, via an ETF represents how far we’ve come in making investing simpler, efficient and more affordable for everyone.”
To coincide with the listing of the three iShares ETFs, nabtrade has launched its dedicated ETF Centre that is now available to Australian investors.