FNB this week launched three new exchange-traded notes (ETNs) as it continues to expand its solutions offering to help more customers invest and save.

The new investment instruments augment the highly popular range of ETNs that were launched by FNB late in 2020, which the financial services provider says will provide South Africans with investment exposure to some of the best known, high-performance companies and brands in the world.

However, rather than offering exposure to single global brands, the three latest ETNs give investors access to a basket of world-leading organisations that are involved in the all-important sustainable development fields of clean energy, water supply and security, and low carbon emissions, FNB explains.

The first ETN provides exposure to the iShares Global Water UCITS exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks the performance of an index of 50 of the largest global companies engaged in water-related activities and operations.

The second ETN has a clean energy focus and gives investors exposure to the iShares Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF, which tracks the return of the S&P Global Clean Energy Index.

The third new ETN tracks the performance of the UBS MSCI World Socially Responsible UCITS ETF, which invests in stocks contained in the MSCI World SRI Low Carbon Select 5% Issuer Capped Total Return Net Index.

FNB Wealth, Investments and Ashburton CEO Sizwe Nxedlana says the expansion of investment products reaffirms the bank’s commitment to be an investment destination of choice for all its clients across the group.

“Our three newest ETNs not only have a value-adding environmental, social and governance (ESG) overlay, but are also structured in the same way as our existing suite of ETNs – which means they have the same low minimum investment of just R10, and investors can choose to invest in dollars or rands,” he explains.

He adds that FNB’s augmented offering allows it to help customers seamlessly migrate from savings to investment in line with their money management aspirations across income segments. 

FNB Wealth and Investments Solutions CEO Bheki Mkhize adds that the very low financial barrier to entry that these ETNs provide, combined with their ease of access via any share trading platform, including FNB’s cost-effective options, “means that any South African can add a global investment component to their personal money management strategy and, thanks to the sustainability focus of these ETNs, do so in a way that is also of benefit to the planet and its people”.

The popularity of FNB’s existing ETNs among South Africans from “all walks of life” was one of the main reasons why the bank chose to add these three ESG options to the suite.

“ETNs make it easy and uncomplicated to expose the money you want to invest to international shares, without actually investing directly in those shares.”