LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Xtrackers (IE) plc
Investment Company with Variable Capital
Registered Office: 78 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland
Registration number: 393802
(“the Company”)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Important Notice to Shareholders of:
Xtrackers ESG EUR High Yield Corporate Bond UCITS ETF
(ISIN: IE0006GNB732)
(the “Fund”)
_________________________________________________________________________________
14 November 2024
Dear Shareholder,
The board of directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) hereby informs the shareholders of the Fund (the “Shareholders”) that Bloomberg Index Services Limited, in its capacity as index administrator of the reference index of the Fund (the “Index Administrator”), announced on 25 September 2024 that it is introducing certain changes to the Reference Index, as detailed below (the “Changes”).
Capitalised terms used in this notice shall have the same meaning ascribed to them in the latest version of the prospectus of the Company (the “Prospectus”) or the supplement of the Fund (the “Supplement”) unless the context otherwise requires.
The Fund tracks the performance of the Bloomberg MSCI Euro High Yield Sustainable and SRI Index (the “Reference Index”).
A. Overview of the Changes
1) Changes to the Reference Index
With effect from 29 November 2024 (the “Effective Date”), the Reference Index will apply the minimum standards laid out for EU Paris Aligned Benchmarks (“EU PAB”) in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and European Council with regards to the minimum standards for EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks (the “PAB Regulation”). The Reference Index will set an initial 50% decarbonisation of absolute greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions relative to the Bloomberg Euro High Yield 250mn Index (the “Parent Index”) followed by an annual 7% decarbonisation trajectory of absolute GHG emissions. In addition, the Reference Index will exclude bonds which do not fulfil specific ESG criteria, including those laid out in Article 12(1)(a) to (g) of the PAB Regulation.
The Index Administrator announced that additional exclusion criteria will be added to the existing Environmental, Social, and Governance exclusion criteria (the “ESG Exclusion Criteria”). From the Effective Date, the following changes to ESG Exclusion Criteria will be applied:
- From the Effective Date, issuers where MSCI does not have reported or estimated absolute GHG emissions data will be excluded.
- Currently, the Reference Index excludes bonds rated below BB by MSCI ESG Research. From the Effective Date, bonds issued by issuers rated BB or below or that do not have a MSCI ESG rating by MSCI ESG Research LLC will be excluded.
- Currently, issuers with a “red” MSCI ESG Controversies score are excluded. From the Effective Date, issuers with a “red” MSCI ESG Controversies score or issuers which breach a MSCI Environmental Controversy score will be excluded. The MSCI ESG Controversies analytical framework organises ESG controversies within three Pillars: Environment, Social and Governance.
- Currently, Issuers that are classified by MSCI in their MSCI ESG Business Involvement Screening Research (“BISR”) as breaching certain thresholds in certain controversial activities are excluded. From the Effective Date, additional BISR exclusion criteria will be included, so that issuers classified by the BISR as having any involvement (as determined by MSCI ESG Research LLC) in controversial weapons or with any fossil fuel reserves, as well as issuers breaching certain revenue thresholds in controversial activities including, but not limited to, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, adult entertainment, genetically modified organisms, civilian firearms, oil & gas, nuclear power and weapons, and thermal coal will be excluded from the Reference Index.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Fund’s investment objective, investment policy, risk profile and fees remain unchanged.
In addition, from the Effective Date, the name of the Reference Index will change as follows:
Current Reference Index Name |
New Reference Index Name |
Bloomberg MSCI Euro High Yield Sustainable and SRI Index |
Bloomberg MSCI Euro High Yield Sustainable and SRI PAB Index |
The complete text of the consultation results published by the Index Administrator on 25 September 2024 is available at https://assets.bbhub.io/professional/sites/27/Consultation-Results-for-Bloomberg-MSCI-Euro-High-Yield-Sustainable-and-SRI-Index-Changes.pdf
2) Change to the Fund’s name
As a result of the Changes, the Board of Directors has resolved to change the name of the Fund from the Effective Date, as follows:
Current Fund Name |
New Fund Name |
Xtrackers ESG EUR High Yield Corporate Bond UCITS ETF |
Xtrackers EUR High Yield Corporate Bond SRI PAB UCITS ETF |
B. General Information
Shareholders who have any queries or to whom any of the above is not clear should seek advice from their stockbroker, bank manager, legal advisor, accountant or other independent financial advisor. Shareholders should also consult their own professional advisors as to the specific tax implications under the laws of the countries of their nationality, residence, domicile or incorporation.
Further information in relation to the Changes may be obtained from the legal entities mentioned under Contact information below, the offices of foreign representatives or by sending an email to Xtrackers@dws.com.
This product is based overseas and is not subject to UK sustainable investment labelling and disclosure requirements. Further information in relation to the UK sustainability labelling and disclosure requirements can be found on the UK FCA’s website.
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Yours faithfully,
______________________________
Director
For and on behalf of
Xtrackers (IE) plc
Contact information
Xtrackers (IE) plc
78 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland
DWS Investment S.A.
2, boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-1115 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Registered in Dublin, Ireland as an open-ended variable capital umbrella investment company with limited liability and as an umbrella fund with segregated liability between sub-funds.
Registration Number 393802. Registered Office as above.
Directors: Tom Murray (Irish), Michael Whelan (Irish), Gerry Grimes (Irish), Philippe Ah-Sun (British), Julien Boulliat (French) and Roberto Cesca (Italian)