DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Impact Shares, the nonprofit ETF sponsor supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, is pleased to announce the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: SDGA) in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN agency that makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
The new ETF allows investors to invest alongside companies that are deploying capital to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal call to action to reduce poverty and support economic development globally. The fund also reflects the importance of the LDC markets and UNCDF’s efforts to increase transformative private sector investments in emerging local economies and ensure that no one is left behind.
“We are proud to partner with Impact Shares and The Rockefeller Foundation to launch the first-ever UN ETF,” said UNCDF Executive Secretary Judith Karl. “As a UN aid agency working in the world’s poorest countries, we are often asked by pension funds and socially-conscious investors how they can use their investment dollars to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ETF offers those clients an exciting way to support the UN’s work while rewarding companies with accountable business practices and good management policies. We hope the ETF will encourage more companies to report on environmental, social and governance issues, as well as how their businesses are aligning with the UN SDGs. We also hope the index will grow to include increasingly larger numbers of LDC companies over time.”
The fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Morningstar Societal Development Index, developed through a collaboration between UNCDF, Impact Shares, Morningstar, and Sustainalytics. Companies included in the index are screened against a set of rigorous selection criteria reflecting customized environmental, social and corporate governance indicators and alignment with the SDGs.
“The Rockefeller Foundation, through its Zero Gap innovative finance portfolio, is proud to support Impact Shares in their work to build investable solutions to mobilize private capital for social good in partnership with leading organizations like UNCDF. This new Social ETF not only addresses the estimated $2.5 trillion annual funding gap required to achieve SDGs in developing countries, it also provides UNCDF a critical new source of funding to continue its good work helping vulnerable people overcome many of the pressing global challenges that impact livelihoods,” said Saadia Madsbjerg, managing director at The Rockefeller Foundation.
The net management fee will be donated to UNCDF for its work in LDCS, including helping poor individuals access savings and credit; lending to small and mid-size businesses in frontier markets; and supporting local governments to build climate-resilient infrastructure and manage their public finances in transparent and accountable ways. The management fee donation also provides the investing public with an innovative new way to support the work of the United Nations.
“Ever since the United Nations defined its SDGs in 2015, investors have become increasingly interested in strategies that contribute to the realization of these ambitious goals. We’re proud to partner with the UNCDF, an organization that has been advocating for people in the least developed countries for over fifty years. Our ETF will allow investors to align their capital with UNCDF’s efforts to help these countries, including by making loans to small businesses, helping poor individuals access banking services, giving young people job training and loans, and expanding access to clean and affordable energy,” said Ethan Powell, CEO of Impact Shares.
About Impact Shares
Impact Shares is a nonprofit fund sponsor and investment manager that is creating a new and innovative platform for clients seeking maximum social impact with market returns. Impact Shares' goal is to build a capital markets bridge between leading nonprofits, investors and corporate America to direct capital and social engagement on societal priorities. Impact Shares is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information about Impact Shares visit impactetfs.org.
About UNCDF:
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and by showing how localized investments—through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance—can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a number of different SDGs. Visit us at www.uncdf.org, follow @UNCDF and subscribe for updates at bit.ly/2wwDiqs
Statements in this communication may include forward-looking information and/or may be based on various assumptions. The forward-looking statements and other views or opinions expressed herein are made as of the date of this publication. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated and there is no guarantee that any particular outcome will come to pass. The statements made herein are subject to change at any time. Impact Shares disclaims any obligation to update or revise any statements or views expressed herein.
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objective, risk factors, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Impact Shares statutory and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 855-267-3837, or by visiting ImpactETFs.org. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Narrowly focused investments and investments in smaller companies typically exhibit higher volatility. Investments in commodities are subject to higher volatility than more traditional investments. The Fund may invest in derivatives, which are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, international investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from social, economic or political instability in other nations. Emerging markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors as well as increased volatility and lower trading volume. The Fund is non-diversified.
Impact Shares ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO), which is not affiliated with Impact Shares Corp, the Investment Adviser for the Funds
