In a press release distributed on April 18, 2018 J.P. Morgan announced “a new suite of global fixed income indices, the J.P. Morgan ESG (“JESG”), which integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in a composite benchmark. The idea for the index was conceived in collaboration with BlackRock to address growing demand from bond investors looking for a benchmark that targets emerging market (EM) issuers with strong ESG practices.
The new index is independently managed by J.P. Morgan and will cater to investors looking to gradually incorporate ESG and responsible investing in their overall fixed income investment strategies by anchoring its methodology around the bank’s widely used flagship indices such as the EMBI, GBI-EM and the CEMBI.
Joyce Chang, Global Head of Research for J.P. Morgan said, “We are launching the J.P. Morgan ESG index (JESG), the first-of-its kind in emerging markets fixed income, to promote responsible investing. BlackRock played a critical role in its inception and we are excited to see this idea come to fruition.”
You may read the press release on the J.P. Morgan internet site.