BlackRock Australia has announced the launch of its iShares ESG Model Portfolios comprising five options based on the risk profiles of investors.
The firm said that the new portfolios, which include conservative, balanced, moderate, growth and aggressive, formed part of its commitment to make sustainability more accessible and affordable.
“BlackRock’s focus is on democratising access to sustainability strategies, making sustainability the standard for investing,” said BlackRock Australasia head of wealth Chantal Giles.
“These ESG Portfolios aim to provide institutional-quality asset allocation across a range of client risk profiles. The creation of these portfolios also helps advisers reduce the time spent on operational oversight and administrative tasks while delivering institutional quality services to their clients through accessing BlackRock’s global investment expertise.”
Ms Giles explained that the ESG portfolios had been developed in response to a request from Bell Partners for portfolios in line with the long-term investment and sustainable goals of its clients.
According to BlackRock, the model portfolios rank among the most affordable on the market. They apply the firm’s multi-asset strategy capabilities and are implemented using iShares ETFs as well as BlackRock index funds.
“Our clients are increasingly looking to us to provide ESG-focused investment solutions so naturally we reached out to BlackRock to help design a set of options that best suit both our clients’ varying risk/return profiles as well as their long-term sustainability objectives,” said Bell Partners MD Brett Taggart.
“We recognise the need for a holistic investment solution that can deliver on these goals so applying BlackRock’s ESG investment approach to its long-standing Model Portfolios made sense to us. Not only is it a cost-efficient way to seek outperformance, but it also delivers a consistent and compliant investment process for every client.”
The portfolios have initially launched on Praemium and are expected to be made available via other platforms later in the year. BlackRock said that the new range sought to make it easier for advisers to serve their clients, working seamlessly within a separately managed account structure.
“BlackRock’s five ESG portfolios deliver a cost-effective opportunity for investors to gain exposure to this important and growing investment thematic, while enabling advisers to allocate more time to their core business of delivering advice and solutions to their clients,” said BlackRock Australasia head of multi-asset strategy and solutions product strategy Katie Petering.
