The new fund will be Hartford’s 12^th ETF offering and the first with an ESG focus.

Hartford Funds announced the launch of the Hartford Schroders ESG US Equity ETF (CBOE: HEET), which seeks seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of US equities that are expected to meet environmental, social, and/or governance (ESG) criteria. In addition, it will weigh factors such as value, profitability, momentum, and low volatility. (BusinessWire)

It is expected that the ETF will have less than half the carbon footprint, which is measured by carbon emissions divided by sales, of its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index.

Hartford Schroders ESG US Equity ETF (CBOE: HEET)

The new fund will be sub-advised by Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. and Schroder Investment Management North America Ltd.

The fund will be managed by Schroders’ Ashley Lester, PhD, who is Head of Systematic Investments and has six years of experience at Schroders and 14 years in the industry.

It will list on the CBOE BZX Exchange. Its estimated expense ratio is 0.39%.

As on August 11, 2021, the top four holdings were:

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) 43%
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) 05%
• Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 82%
• Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) 66%

“The Hartford Schroders ESG US Equity ETF enables us to offer a flexible, cost-effective strategy that is designed to help investors achieve their long-term investment goals, while also having a positive influence on our world,” said Vernon Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Funds. “We believe that applying ESG principles to an ETF, and leveraging Schroders’ quantitative investing expertise and proprietary approach to ESG investing, can provide stronger returns and make for a better investor experience on multiple levels.”

As of June 30, 2021, Hartford Funds’ investment advisory business had approximately $153.8 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management. Its product line-up includes more than 50 mutual funds and ETFs in a variety of styles and asset classes.

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