Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has added the £412m Legal & General Future World ESG UK Index to its Wealth Shortlist, which identifies funds with long-term performance potential.
The fund, headed by Jason Forster, aims to track the performance of the Solactive L&G Enhanced ESG UK Index by following a full replication process.
L&G currently has over £470bn invested across its passive offerings.
HL passive investment analyst Alexander Watkins said: “We’ve monitored the L&G index team for several years and it’s currently one of the best for integrating ESG solutions into tracker funds.
“We hold the team in high regard and following a recent detailed review of the UK ESG passive sector and several meetings with the team, our conviction has grown stronger.”
He added: “An index tracker fund is one of the simplest ways to invest, and we think this fund could be a great low-cost starting point for a portfolio aiming to deliver long-term growth in a responsible way. It could also be a good addition to a portfolio of other tracker funds.”
Since inception in April 2019, the strategy has returned 8.9%, compared to 13.3% for the index. HL said the underperformance was expected due to the costs associated with running the fund.
In its last Wealth Shortlist update in December, HL dropped the Marlborough Multi Cap Income fund.
See also: Hargreaves axes Richard Pease’s Special Situations fund from Wealth Shortlist
