CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it will launch E-mini S&P 500 ESG Index futures, a new risk management tool that aligns with environmental, social and governance (ESG) values. The new futures contracts will be available for trading on Nov. 18, 2019, pending regulatory review.

Better futures start here. Announcing CME S&P 500 ESG futures, scheduled to launch November 18. Learn more: https://t.co/NBRxX2LCfg pic.twitter.com/YP3eMedH73

— CMEGroup (@CMEGroup) October 3, 2019

“A growing number of institutional investors and asset managers have incorporated sustainable investing objectives into their strategies,” said Tim McCourt, CME Group Global Head of Equity Index and Alternative Investment Products. “Our new futures contracts will allow market participants to gain price exposure to an index that closely tracks the performance of the S&P 500, while adhering to ESG principles. This is another example of how CME Group is not only meeting the changing risk management needs of our customers in an evolving global marketplace, but also offering choices that allow for the alignment of investment decisions with personal or institutional values.”

“We’re pleased that CME Group has developed E-mini S&P 500 ESG Index futures linked to our S&P 500 ESG Index. Investors are no longer simply viewing ESG indices and benchmarks as niche market tools, but are increasingly integrating ESG metrics to manage their core portfolios. We believe demand for innovative ESG index-based products, especially in the U.S. and Europe, will continue to grow and become more mainstream as market participants seek to better align their sustainability and investment goals,” said Reid Steadman, Global Head of ESG Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The S&P 500 ESG Index is a broad-based, market-cap-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of securities meeting sustainability criteria, while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the S&P 500.

These new contracts will complement CME Group’s suite of equity index futures and options contracts, including its existing E-mini S&P 500 futures and options and Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures.

Source: CME Group