The Invesco MSCI North America Climate ETF launched Dec. 11 with a record-breaking $2.4 billion investment from Finnish pension insurer Varma, Invesco said.
The new ETF, with ticker symbol KLMN, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 11, said a spokeswoman for Invesco, a global asset management firm. Varma’s investment “breaks a worldwide record by surpassing the funding of any previous new ETF launch globally,” Invesco said in a news release.
KLMN’s launch follows the June debut of the Invesco MSCI Global Climate 500 ETF. That $1.7 billion ETF, with ticker symbol KLMT, was launched with a $1.6 billion investment from Varma.
“We are excited to collaborate once again with MSCI and Varma on a newly developed index and ETF that will allow Varma to easily execute a large allocation that aligns precisely with their investment views,” said Brian Hartigan, global head of ETFs and index investments at Invesco, in the release.
The launch of KLMN, “the largest by assets in the ETF industry’s history, underscores the ETF structure’s ability to meet the needs of the most sophisticated institutional investors,” said Emily McKinley, head of institutional specialists, ETFs and models at Invesco, in written comments provided via the spokeswoman.
“Whether for their liquidity, transparency, precision, efficiency, or otherwise, more institutions are recognizing ETFs as a key tool at their disposal to achieve unique portfolio outcomes,” McKinley said.
KLMN aims to track the MSCI Global Climate 500 North America Selection Index, which MSCI designed with Varma’s input to align with Varma’s investment parameters, the release said.
The index is designed to track the performance of U.S. and Canadian stocks of mid- and large-cap companies included in the MSCI ACWI Select Climate 500 Index — the parent index — that meet certain environmental and climate criteria relative to their peers as determined by index provider MSCI, according to an overview of the new ETF available on Invesco’s website.
KLMN has an expense ratio of 0.09%, Invesco’s website shows.
“I am grateful to work with MSCI, a leading global index provider, as well as Invesco, one of the world’s largest asset managers, to break new ground on the launch of KLMN,” Timo Sallinen, Varma’s head of listed securities, said in the release.
Sallinen added that Varma’s “record-breaking $2.4 billion investment in the North American tilt of KLMN aligns with our investment in the global KLMT ETF, which launched earlier this year, to provide us with a flexible way to allocate to our precise geographical and responsible investing needs.”
Atlanta-based Invesco, which has offices in more than 20 countries, managed $1.8 trillion in assets globally as of Sept. 30, Invesco’s release said. Varma had assets under management totaling €63.2 billion ($70.5 billion) as of Sept. 30.
