12 April 2021

Varma buys BlackRock sustainable equity ETF

Finland’s Varma has given BlackRock’s commitment to sustainable investing a shot in the arm by investing €200m ($238m) in the manager’s US Carbon Transition Readiness ETF.

The product, which became the largest ETF launch on listing in New York last week, buys large and mid-sized US companies believed to be best positioned to benefit from the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Timo Sallinen, Varma's head of listed securities, said the investment would help the pensions insurer have a carbon-neutral investment portfolio by 2035.