Guinness Asset Management is set to enter the European ETF market with the takeover over of HANetf’s iClima sustainable energy ETF.
The iClima Global Decarbonisation Enablers UCITS ETF (CLMA) will switch from a passive strategy that tracks the iClima Global Decarbonisation Enablers index to being actively managed by Guinness Asset Management.
As a result, CLMA will be renamed to the Guinness Sustainable Energy UCITS ETF and will be benchmarked against the MSCI World index.
Guinness Asset Management will select companies that “demonstrate sustainable characteristics” and “contribute towards reduced global carbon emissions”, namely companies within sustainable energy or energy technology sectors.
The changes are subject to shareholder vote on 4 July as well as approval from the Central Bank of Ireland.
Guinness Asset Management currently has four actively managed mutual funds spanning sustainable themes, including two sustainable energy strategies.
Hector McNeil, co-founder and co-CEO of HANetf, said: "We are seeing more and more asset managers within Europe looking to enter the active ETF space and a growing pipeline to add to the HANetf platform.
"I always say that active asset managers in Europe without an ETF strategy are like dinosaurs looking up at the sky and seeing a small black dot far away and saying that’s nothing to worry about.
"This is clearly changing, and Europe is following the US market where the majority of new ETF listings are active ETFs.”
A spokesperson from Guinness Asset Management said: “Guinness Global Investors confirms its intention to take on management of the current iClima Global Decarbonisation Enablers UCITS ETF, subject to a vote. More information will be made available in due course.”
CLMA was launched in December 2020 and has amassed $20.5m AUM since its inception.
The S&P Global Clean Energy Select HANzero UCITS ETF (ZERO) merged into CLMA earlier this year as the issuer continues to consolidate its range.
Last September, the firm also agreed a deal with Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) to merge the $37m L&G US Energy Infrastructure MLP UCITS ETF (MLPX) with the $19.5m Alerian Midstream Energy Dividend UCITS ETF (MMLP).
