This exchange-traded fund (ETF) endeavors to mirror the investment performance of the Bloomberg MSCI U.S. Corporate SRI Select Index. Its portfolio predominantly comprises U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bonds, each possessing a maturity exceeding one year. A defining characteristic is its stringent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening process. The fund systematically excludes companies that engage in, have significant ties to, or generate substantial revenue from a broad spectrum of contentious activities, including adult entertainment, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, various forms of weaponry (nuclear, controversial, conventional, and civilian firearms), nuclear power, and fossil fuels (thermal coal, oil, and gas). The precise levels of involvement or revenue that warrant exclusion can vary across different sectors. Moreover, it avoids companies that fall short of specific ESG controversies assessment benchmarks or fail to meet diversity criteria, such as having at least one woman on their board of directors, or for which diversity data is unavailable to the index provider. Should the index provider lack adequate data to evaluate an issuer against the ESG criteria, that company's bonds are similarly omitted. The ETF employs a passively managed, index-sampling methodology. Investors benefit from current income and a portfolio characterized by high-grade credit quality. Crucially, these comprehensive ESG screening criteria do not extend to government-issued bonds (e.g., U.S. Treasury securities), asset-backed securities (ABS), mortgage-backed securities (MBS), or commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).
