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Hong Kong & Singapore
Taiwan 台灣
Winners List 2023
Fund Awards 2023
MPF Awards 2023
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Fund Awards 2022 – Premier Hub
Fund Awards 2022 – Winners List
MPF Awards 2022 – Winners List
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Gatekeepers Forum
Sustainable Wealth Forum
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About BlueOnion
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Fund Awards 2023 – Winners List
MPF Awards 2023 – Winners List
HOME
AWARDS INFORMATION
Hong Kong & Singapore
Taiwan 台灣
Winners List 2023
Fund Awards 2023
MPF Awards 2023
PAST WINNERS
Fund Awards 2022 – Premier Hub
Fund Awards 2022 – Winners List
MPF Awards 2022 – Winners List
FORUM
Gatekeepers Forum
Sustainable Wealth Forum
ABOUT
About Benchmark
About BlueOnion
Contact Us
Fund Awards 2023 – Winners List
MPF Awards 2023 – Winners List
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Submission ID
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Region
*
Category
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Other Submission ID
Clone submission
Also apply this submission for other Fixed Income ETF entries.
House Award for Fixed Income ETF
Name of firm
*
The Flagship Fund's name
*
The Fund's ISIN Code
*
Data as of the quarter-end
DD slash MM slash YYYY
Pillar 1: Investment Proposition
1. Management style: This ETF is managed according to the following style.
Please select only one response.
Passive, index-tracking (including smart beta and other strategies that replicate any index, even if the index has a 'fundamental' or other 'value-added' approach - importantly, the ETF itself is index-tracking with no active portfolio management decisions)
Actively managed i.e. the portfolio manager makes active decisions; this ETF is managed just as an active mutual would be managed; the only difference is, this ETF is listed on a stock exchange
2. Index weighting: This question is about the index on which your ETF is based. What is the weighting of that index based on?
Please select only one response.
Price weighted
Market-cap weighted
Equal weighted
Fundamental weighted
Active portfolio management, not based on any index
3. Competitive edge: Compared with similar ETFs available, what is your ETF's unique proposition to investors?
Please select all applicable responses.
For retail investors and smaller institutions, our ETF provides access to assets, markets or investment strategies that are usually only available to large, major institutional asset owners
Access to inaccessible markets, or assets, for all investors
Trading in local time, instead of North American or European time
Better execution, resulting in tighter bid/ask, lower expense ratios, etc.
Better liquidity of underlying assets, leading to better risk management
Physical replication or holdings, as opposed to synthetic or other non-physical means
Our ETF is based on a different index from competing ETFs, giving our ETF a better risk-return profile
Our ETF has a lower tracking error over 3 years or more
Our ETF has a longer track record
Our ETF charges lower management fees
Our ETF has a better known brand
Additional Remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
4. Please complete Question 1 before answering Question 4.
4. Index selection: When you selected the base index for this ETF, what were your requirements?
Please select all responses that apply.
The index was produced by a firm reputed for robust research and strong processes
The index was produced by a company with more than 10 years' track record in indexing
The index allows for 85-100% physical replication at reasonable costs and risks
The index allows for 85-100% synthetic replication at reasonable costs and risks
The index's components have reasonable to high liquidity in the secondary markets
The index's components can be traded cost-effectively
The index is reasonably diversified and is not overly concentrated in any single security, sector, country/region, credit quality, etc.
The index constituents have average or above-average ESG ratings
The index provider has a stewardship code/framework/practices that are clearly articulated, explicit and publicly available
The index license is competitively priced
Additional remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
4. Alpha sources, or performance drivers What were the major sources of alpha, or performance drivers, over the last 3 years (if your active ETF is fewer than 3 years old, then please provide alpha sources since inception)?
You may select more than one response.
Securities/assets mispriced by the market
Securities/assets misunderstood by the market
Securities/assets that benefited from cyclical factors
Securities/assets that are relatively inaccessible by retail investors and/or smaller institutional asset owners
Securities/assets in special situations
Picking up securities/assets with strong fundamentals during times of market panic
Risk budgeting and allocation
Asset allocation to specific sectors, geographies, asset classes
Securities/assets in a sector/business model that has not yet been discovered by mainstream investors
Our quantitatively based investment approach
Securities/assets with higher-than-average environmental scores
Securities/assets with higher-than-average social scores
Securities/assets with higher-than-average governance scores
Additional remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
Pillar 2: Execution & Performance
1. Effectiveness: Please select only one response related to performance in the last 12 months.
[i] Net of all costs and charges borne by investors.
My index-tracking ETF's R-squared is below 75%
My index-tracking ETF's R-squared is between 75% - 85%
My index-tracking ETF's R-squared is above 85%
My ACTIVELY MANAGED ETF's NET[i] Alpha is above 0
My ACTIVELY MANAGED ETF's NET[i] Alpha is below 0
2. Expense ratio: What is your ETF's expense ratio, over the past 12 months, compared with its peer group average (for example China A-share ETFs, fixed income ETFs, active ETFs, etc.)?
Please select only one response.
More than 25 basis points ABOVE average
20 - 25 basis points ABOVE average
Between 15 -20 basis points ABOVE average
Between 10 - 15 basis points ABOVE average
Between 1 - 10 basis points ABOVE average
0 - 5 basis points BELOW average
Between 5 - 10 basis points BELOW average
Between 10 -15 basis points BELOW average
Between 15 - 20 basis points BELOW average
More than 20 basis points BELOW average
3. Bid-ask spread: What is your ETF's average bid-ask spread over the last 12 months?
Above 2%
Between 1.5% - 2%
Between 1% - 1.5%
Between 0.5% - 1%
Between 0.25% - 0.5%
Below 0.25%
4. Market makers, 1Y: How many market makers, on average, did this ETF have in the last 12 months?
2 or fewer
3 to 5
6 to 8
9 to 11
12 to 14
15 or more
Pillar 3: Operations
1. Lead manager experience: How long has the LEAD manager of this ETF been managing similar ETFs?
You may include ETF management experience gained in other firms. Please select only one answer.
Less than 1 year
1 - 2 years
3 -5 years
More than 5 years but fewer than 10 years
10 or more years
2. Investment team experience: What is the average experience of the investment team managing similar ETFs?
You may include ETF management experience gained in other firms. Please select only one answer.
Less than 1 year
1 - 2 years
3 -5 years
More than 5 years but fewer than 10 years
10 or more years
3. Lead manager tenure: What is the tenure of the LEAD manager of this ETF at the current firm?
Less than 1 year
1 - 2 years
3 -5 years
More than 5 years but fewer than 10 years
10 or more years
4. Transparency: How often do you disclose the full holdings of the ETF?
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annually
We never disclose the full holdings
Pillar 4: Engagement
Note: When answering the questions in this pillar, please respond directly relevant to this specific fund/strategy. They should NOT be general answers that generally apply to all your firm's funds/strategy. [i] Material impacts are the issues that are reasonably likely to impact a company's financial condition or operating performance and, therefore, are most important to investors. Materiality varies from one industry to another and one business model to another. They may include but are not limited to supply chain, employee welfare, environmental practices, product safety, etc. [ii] Adaptation of the CFA PRI Guidance and Case Studies for ESG Integration: Equities and Fixed Income, 2018 [iii] Definition of concrete: Explicitly and clearly defined framework, parameters, principles, methods/techniques, and objectives are available for imminent implementation [iv] Adaptation of the CFA Institute ESG Disclosure Standards For Investment Products, November 2021 [v] Adaptation of the PRI Principles – Principle 2 on active ownership policies and practices. ESG Engagement for Fixed Income Investors.
1. Engagement Commitment: Engagement policies [v] have been undertaken on behalf of investors to mitigate risks and enhance returns. These activities include:
We believe in effective bondholder engagement, and we have developed an engagement strategy and have embedded Engagement in the investment process
Having a dedicated engagement team or integrated with ESG specialists and fixed income specialists working alongside
Prioritize engagement activity based on size and duration of holdings, credit quality, degree of transparency, the materiality of ESG risks and opportunities, and priority themes and issues, among other things
Using the bondholder's influence to engage with issuers throughout the issuance lifecycle, whether the debt is publicly issued or privately placed, to influence how an issuer addresses specific ESG risks or value creation opportunities
We collaborate with other bondholders on collaborative initiatives such as signing joint letters to companies, requesting support on upcoming shareholder resolutions, opportunities to join investor-company engagements, engaging regulators, policymakers, credit rating agencies, etc.
We are passive managers and as bondholders, we have limited rights about our position in the capital structure, and we do not have influence over and access to companies
Although we are passive managers, we are aware of our bondholders' rights and duties on bondholder engagement, and we are in the process of setting up a policy for implementation within the next 12 months
We don't have an engagement policy for this strategy, and we have no such plans within the next 12 months
2. Engagement Activity[v]: Our engagement activity priorities are based on one or more of the following criteria:
We seek dialogue with priority companies to manage more medium/long-term issues based on their analysis of potentially material ESG issues and megatrends
We initiate dialogue with companies in reaction to a recent downgrade, controversy, or scandal which is presenting a financial and/or reputational risk
We prioritize the most significant holdings as they pose the greatest potential risk to portfolio performance
We prioritize issuers with less balance sheet flexibility (such as high-yield issuers) as they are typically less able to absorb an unexpected deterioration in their businesses due to material ESG risks
We focus on debt instrument types that are most exposed to selected ESG factors over a given timeframe; for instance, emissions-reducing regulatory targets will likely not impact three- and ten-year bonds in the same way
We focus on the quality of transparency of ESG, improving understanding of how an issuer is managing or plans to manage, ESG risks and value creation opportunities in the absence of comprehensive and comparable issuer disclosure
We engage over ESG issues that are most material for the specific market and/or sector, and our engagement discussions are on sustainability-related trends and uncertainties that are likely to affect the financial condition or operating performance of a company
We focus on those topics representing the highest value at risk or potential impact across issuers and sectors, such as low-carbon transition, water risks, labor practices, cybersecurity, anti-bribery and corruption, and corporate tax transparency
We share best practices and help issuers identify best practices they can refer to and communicate with peer companies that are lagging behind
As passive managers, we do not think it is necessary to engage with issuers
We do not engage with our issuers on any of the above, BUT we have concrete[iii] plans to begin engagement at least some of the above within the next 12 months
Do not do any of the above and have no concrete[iii] plans to do so
Additional Remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
3. Engagement Team: A dedicated engagement team [iv] is set up to flag specific companies and issues for Engagement which includes the undertakings below:
All written communications and meeting records, including targeted outcomes of the Engagement, are logged in the engagement management system
Engagement is undertaken with the intent to improve a company's environmental and social resource management and to reduce risks related to environmental and social practices or activities
Engagement activities include in-person and virtual meetings, written correspondence, and emails
Engagement may occur with a company's board of directors, executive management, or investor relations and may be conducted independently or in collaboration with other investors through the fund's engagement service provider
The Fund's Engagement Team reviews progress toward each engagement effort quarterly against the targeted outcomes and determines next steps as needed
Seek feedback on the quality of the meeting and use it to improve subsequent engagements.
Use transparent evaluation methodologies to help guide dialogue with the target companies and measure progress made against set objectives
Ensure the efficient and effective sharing of information gained from engagements with all relevant investment team members
Set targets for the outcomes of the Engagement and agree on time-bound goals with companies
Continue communication with companies to provide feedback on their progress against investor expectations
As passive managers, we do not see a need to establish a team for active engagement
We do not have such a team established, BUT we have concrete[iii] plans to set one up within the next 12 months
Do not do any of the above and have no concrete[iii] plans to do so
Additional Remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
4. Engagement frequency: Teamwide over the last 1 year, we have engaged with issuers/potential issuers on the material[ii] issues selected above:
Please include both collective Engagement and Engagement conducted on your own.
Once a year on average
Twice a year on average
Once a quarter on average
Once every two months on average
Once a month on average
More frequently than once a month on average
We currently have no engagement
Additional Remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
5. Engagement Disclosure: Do you disclose your key engagement activities, along with the outcomes, to investors?
You may select more than one statement:
Yes, we report on (ESG) outcomes of specific or general engagements to internal research teams' key stakeholders, including clients
Yes, we disclose in a separate report devoted to Engagement (electronic or printed)
Yes, we disclose as part of scheduled reporting, such as factsheets and annual reports, etc
Yes, we disclose on our website, which is accessible to investors
Yes, we disclose but only when investors request for it
No, we do not currently disclose, but we have concrete[iii] plans within the next 12 months
No, we do not currently disclose and have no concrete[iii] plans to disclose
Additional Remarks, if any (maximum 250 words)
6. Actual Example - Only shortlisted candidates who made it to the Gatekeeper Forum will be required to complete actual example.
Hidden
6. Actual Example - Please provide an ACTUAL example of how you executed ONE of the following, in a maximum of 500 words.
An investment/divestment/change in security weight resulting from your engagement activities
How your stewardship code/framework/philosophy/methods/approach has, or has, evolved over the years. How do these changes affect investors and the community your firm operates in?
How you've adapted your firm's stewardship practices/approaches for Asia, the rationale behind the adaptation/s and the outcome/s
Hidden
Please briefly describe the critical challenge/s, actions taken, results and lessons learned:
Pillar 5: Corporate Responsibility and Strength
Please complete this pillar in separate "Pillar 5: Corporate Responsibility and Strength" questionnaire. You will only need to respond to Pillar 5 ONCE for all your firm's investment strategies.
Please provide the following attachments:
- Latest factsheets
- Prospectus
- Research papers
- Other relevant materials
Attachments
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