Frankfurt/Zug (Dec. 5, 2019) – Qontigo’s global index provider STOXX Ltd. has licensed the STOXX USA 500 ESG-X Index as an underlying for listed futures on the international derivatives exchange Eurex. The new futures contract is scheduled to be launched on February 10, 2020, well ahead of the quarterly roll. Eurex will expand its ESG derivatives product suite exactly one year after its successful launch of the first futures on STOXX ESG indices. This is part of a broader strategy to take the Eurex ESG offering to a global level.

“The Eurex STOXX USA 500 ESG-X futures will be the first listed derivative covering the US market which includes a screening for thermal coal mining and coal-fired power plants. The STOXX ESG-X family was developed based on the feedback of European asset owners, and this important screening is a very relevant feature as investors look more closely at their climate-related risks,” said Willem Keogh, Head of ESG and Thematic Solutions at Qontigo.

“Because we were looking for tradeable benchmark indices which are compliant with our responsible investment policy, we were involved in the development of the ESG-X index family and were among the first to trade Eurex futures on the STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X Index. Liquidity is of the greatest importance and we are therefore very happy that the ESG-X range on Eurex is being extended with a future on the STOXX USA 500 ESG-X Index,” said Magnus Linder, Head of Derivatives at Swedbank Robur, one of Scandinavia’s largest asset managers. 

“ESG derivatives have a huge potential for the mainstreaming of sustainable investing as they give our clients the ability to hedge and take positions while using fully compliant, sustainable trading instruments,” said Paul Vivier, BNP Paribas, senior trader. “We fully support the launch of this new future as liquidity will drive ESG derivatives growth.”

Michael Peters, Member of the Eurex Executive Board, said: “Driven by the growth of ESG assets, the strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, and the overall dynamics of the market, we want to give our clients maximum flexibility when it comes to selecting their ESG investment approaches.” 

The ESG-X index family is based on involvement screening for controversial weapons, tobacco and thermal coal as well as a norm-based screening that follows the United Nations Global Compact principles of human and labor rights, the environment, business ethics and anti-corruption. STOXX cooperates with the ESG data provider Sustainalytics for the screening.  The STOXX USA 500 ESG-X uses a free-float market cap weighting similar to its parent index. It is easy to implement as a benchmark for asset owners and well-suited to serve as an underlying for ETFs, derivatives or structured products.

About Qontigo

Qontigo is a financial intelligence innovator and a leader in the modernization of investment management, from risk to return. The combination of the company’s world-class indices and best-of-breed analytics, with its technological expertise and customer-driven innovation enables its clients to achieve competitive advantage in a rapidly changing marketplace. Qontigo’s global client base includes the world’s largest financial products issuers, capital owners and asset managers. Created in 2019 through the combination of STOXX, DAX and Axioma, Qontigo is part of Deutsche Börse Group, headquartered in Eschborn with key locations in New York, Zug and London. 
www.qontigo.com  

About STOXX

STOXX Ltd. is Qontigo’s global index provider, currently calculating a global, comprehensive index family of over 10,000 strictly rules-based and transparent indices. Best known for the leading European equity indices EURO STOXX 50, STOXX Europe 50 and STOXX Europe 600, STOXX Ltd. maintains and calculates the STOXX Global index family which consists of total market, broad and blue-chip indices for the regions Americas, Europe, Asia/Pacific and sub-regions Latin America and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as global markets.
STOXX indices are licensed to more than 600 companies around the world as underlyings for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), futures and options, structured products and passively managed investment funds.
Qontigo’s index provider STOXX is part of Deutsche Börse Group, and the administrator of the DAX indices under the European Benchmark Regulation.
www.stoxx.com
 

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