BlackRock is listing yet another ESG ETF, adding a fourteenth ESG ETF to its American suite. The iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (SUSL) begins with the MSCI USA index and then does what at this stage seems like an almost compulsory ESG move of removing companies in the tobacco, alcohol, gambling, nuclear power and weapons industries.
The companies surviving these exclusions are then ranked by MSCI for how good they do by society and the environment, “using a sector-specific key issue weighting model,” the prospectus says.
BlackRock beefs up ESG transparency
Following these eligibility screens, companies are then ranked based on ESG rating, current index membership, sector adjusted ESG scores, and free-float adjusted market capitalization.
