Solactive AG has launched the Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index, which was created to track the price movements of low volatility stocks passing the ESG screenings of oekom research, a leading rating agency for sustainable investments. BNP Paribas has licensed the Index to launch a wide range of products, from capital protected to more complex structures designed for both retail and institutional clients in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.
Steffen Scheuble, CEO, Solactive, said: “Solactive is well-known in the industry for being able to create tailor-made indices that fit the needs of each of our clients, whether it is plain equity ideas or complex investment structures that need to be translated into a rule based, transparent index. The Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index is the perfect example of our capacity to provide efficient exposure to a specific market in a timely manner. Not to mention that this innovative ethical index benefits from both the comprehensive screenings of oekom research and the interesting built-in feature around historical low volatility.”
Michael Schuelli, Head of Structured Solutions Germany & Austria, BNP Paribas Global Markets, said: “We are enthusiastic about the benefits this index will bring to our clients across the region, and the strong potential it offers in creating solutions which bring a financial return to our clients, while meeting their Environmental & Social Governance (ESG) investment goals. We are confident that the Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index brings both transparency and good judgement to this space, and is a sign of BNP Paribas’ commitment to drive progress in sustainable & responsible investment solutions.”
Julia Haake, Director of Paris Office, oekom research, said: “oekom research’s high-quality analyses form the ideal basis for an index with high sustainability standards. When selecting companies for the Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index, we apply very rigorous criteria. The Index thus provides sustainable investors with guidance on which companies have systematically integrated sustainability into their management systems.”
The index universe is provided to Solactive by oekom research on a quarterly basis, consisting of European companies which meet minimum sector-specific sustainability management requirements and have therefore been awarded oekom Prime status. The companies in the selection universe are further screened for controversial business areas (including alcohol, coal & oil, gambling, GMOs, military, nuclear power or tobacco) and controversial business practices (including business malpractice, controversial environmental practices, human rights or labour rights) and will be removed from the pool if they violate either of the exclusion criteria.
Solactive selects stocks from the starting universe that are incorporated or listed in developed Europe and have a 20 days average daily trading volume of at least EUR 10 million. Stocks are ranked by inverse historical volatility over the past 130 days in their local currency. The Index is composed of the top 30 stocks, which are weighted by inverse historical volatility.
Published in EUR, the Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index is a total return index. The Index is based on 100 at the close of trading on the start date of 21st January 2000.
For more information, please visit the Solactive oekom Ethical Low Volatility Index webpage.