AGF Investments has rolled out new actively managed equity and fixed income ETFs in Canada.
Karrie Van Belle, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, AGF Investments.
The AGF Global Sustainable Growth Equity ETF (AGSG CN) invests in stocks of companies worldwide that are developing clean energy and sustainable development solutions, while the AGF Global Opportunities Bond ETF (AGLB CN) offers access to a core multi-sector global fixed income portfolio.
The funds have listed on NEO Exchange and come with management fees of 0.65%.
Karrie Van Belle, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, AGF Investments, commented, “Today’s launch expands AGF’s globally focused product shelf while offering a greater selection of our leading investment strategies.”
Sustainable equity
The AGF Global Sustainable Growth Equity ETF brings one of Canada’s longest track records in sustainable investing to the ETF marketplace. The underlying strategy has been offered by AGF in a mutual fund format since 1991.
The ETF seeks long-term capital growth by investing across four key impact themes: Energy Technologies (renewable energy production, EV & autonomous transport, smart cities, and automation control), Water Solutions (water treatment, water infrastructure, and irrigation), Waste Management (recycling, waste services, and emissions control), and Health (sustainable food, product safety).
Van Belle said, “By investing in innovative companies in the solar, wind, waste management, water management, and clean technology sectors, we believe AGSG meets growing investor demand for thematic, sustainability-focused solutions that can help investors achieve long-term growth while participating in the transition to a more sustainable economy.”
As of 2 October, the ETF had 46 holdings with roughly three-quarters (78.2%) of its weight allocated to stocks listed in North America and the remaining 21.8% in European equities.
The fund is also suitable for investors seeking reduced carbon equity exposure as the portfolio offers a 40% reduction in carbon-to-revenue ratio compared to the benchmark MSCI World Index.
Global bonds
Meanwhile, the AGF Global Opportunities Bond ETF is a new fixed income strategy from AGF that seeks to provide capital appreciation and interest income by investing in government and corporate bonds from around the world.
A top-down fundamental approach determines the strategy’s sector allocation and is combined with a bottom-up approach to corporate bond selection using proprietary credit research.
“AGLB is a ‘go-anywhere’ mandate designed with the flexibility to find the best opportunities globally,” said Van Belle.
As of 2 October, the ETF had 92 holdings and was equally split between allocations to Treasury (50.4%) and corporate (48.4%) securities. Investment-grade securities accounted for over two-thirds of the total portfolio with significant allocations to bonds rated AA (44.3%), A (10.3%), BBB (9.0%), and AAA (6.3%). The fund was yielding 2.06% with an effective duration of 3.06 years.