The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.

HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) has added to its thematic exchange-traded funds offering by launching its Climate Technology ETF in partnership with Nasdaq®, a provider of rules-based innovative indexes.

The HSBC Nasdaq Global Climate Tech UCITS ETF, listed on 13 October on the London Stock Exchange, will track the Nasdaq CTA Global Climate Technology™ Index to offer investors exposure to the climate technology ecosystem through a future-focused thematic taxonomy developed by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Nasdaq. 

The launch builds upon HSBC AM’s commitment to facilitate investor access to climate-aware investment products which help incorporate climate considerations into investment portfolios, the firm said in a statement.

HSBC AM, Nasdaq and CTA have worked in partnership to develop an index comprising companies which want to help climate transition and mitigate climate risk. The index spans technologies that support energy transition, including power sources, power storage, infrastructure, agriculture and food technology, adaptation, and fossil-free transport.

Assessment for inclusion in the index is based on factors such as market capitalisation, revenue, market share, patents, and product launches. Each company is also scored according to its revenue share derived from climate technology and how the company's own technology helps deliver on climate objectives such as carbon neutrality or net zero. 

“At HSBC AM, we see climate change as a global issue. Scalable technology solutions have a significant part to play in addressing some of the challenges associated with climate change and we believe thematic ETFs present an exciting way for investors to build climate tech exposure into their portfolios and access this crucial theme,” Olga de Tapia, global head of ETF and indexing sales at HSBC Asset Management, said. 

“The launch of our new Climate Tech ETF reinforces our commitment to the future development of climate-focused technology and enables us to continue to serve global investors seeking broad exposure to such technology and this exciting forward looking theme,” de Tapia added.

The launch follows the launch of its Climate Tech Venture Capital strategy which provides clients with opportunities to invest in early-stage technology startups seeking to accelerate the de-carbonisation and de-pollution of industries, as well as HSBC’s plans to allocate $1 billion of financing to support climate tech companies, the firm said. Other investment managers have also stepped up their actions on ESG and climate focused funds. See here.