TORONTO, April 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, RBC iShares expanded its exchange traded fund (“ETF”) lineup with the launch of three new fossil fuel-screened ETFs that are expected to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange today. The environmental, social, and governance (“ESG“)-oriented ETFs, which join the RBC iShares suite of sustainable ETFs, will be managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (“BlackRock Canada”), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Canada is also announcing changes to the names and management fees of several existing iShares ESG ETFs, effective April 21, 2020.
A Growing Demand for Sustainable InvestingInterest and demand for sustainable investing strategies is growing, as investors increasingly view sustainability risks as investment risks, and look to build more resilience into their portfolios. This shift in investor preference is helping to steer assets into this category. Globally, in 2019, sustainable investing index funds grew at a rapid pace, with inflows tripling to $55 billion – a record¹, and a trend that is expected to continue as demand for sustainable solutions increases.Pat Chiefalo, Managing Director, Head of iShares, BlackRock Canada: “Sustainability is becoming a core component of portfolio construction, as investors increasingly look to enhance how they invest, and build more resilient portfolios for the future. Sustainable ETFs have simplified and expanded that opportunity. RBC iShares is committed to enabling investor choice, by broadening our sustainable investing platform to include new products that will provide investors with advanced ESG screens, including a fossil fuels screen.”New Fossil Fuel-Screened ETFsThe three new fossil fuel-screened ETFs build upon the success of the existing suite of iShares ESG ETFs, and will be known as the “ESG Advanced” suite of ETFs. These ETFs currently seek to track indices that apply extensive business involvement screens and require constituent securities to meet minimum overall ESG attributes (as determined by the index provider) to be eligible for inclusion.  The current indices apply screens to exclude securities of companies with material involvement in the business of fossil fuels, adult entertainment, alcohol, cannabis (XCSR only), gambling, tobacco, genetic engineering, controversial weapons, nuclear weapons, civilian firearms, conventional weapons, for-profit prisons, predatory lending, palm oil, and nuclear power, as well as companies involved in severe business controversies; in each case, as determined by the index provider.Changes to Existing iShares ESG ETFsEffective April 21, 2020, the names, as applicable, and management fees of the following iShares ESG ETFs will change as follows:The existing iShares ESG ETFs listed above will be known as the “ESG Aware” suite of ETFs.  The ESG Aware ETFs seek to track indices which emphasize companies with favourable overall ESG attributes, and are optimized to maintain a similar overall risk and expected return profile to broad market indices.  There is no change to the investment objectives or trading symbols of these ETFs. Current unitholders in these ETFs are not required to take any actions as a result of these changes.For more information about the RBC iShares ETF suite, investors and advisors are invited to visit rbcishares.com.About BlackRock                                BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. As of March 31, 2020, the firm managed approximately US$6.47 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate | Twitter: @BlackRockCA | Blog: www.blackrockblog.com/can/ | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock.About iSharesiShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 900+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$1.85 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2020, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock, trusted to manage more money than any other investment firm³.
  
About RBC Global Asset ManagementRBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) is the asset management division of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and includes money managers BlueBay Asset Management and Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management. RBC GAM is a provider of global investment management services and solutions to institutional, high-net-worth and individual investors through separate accounts, pooled funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, exchange-traded funds and specialty investment strategies. The RBC GAM group of companies manage approximately $460 billion in assets and have approximately 1,400 employees located across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.The funds or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by MSCI ESG Research, Bloomberg or Barclays, and, MSCI ESG Research, Bloomberg and Barclays bear no liability with respect to any such funds or securities or any index on which such funds or securities are based. The prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship, MSCI ESG Research, Bloomberg, and Barclays have with BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited and any related funds.MSCI and EAFE are trademarks of MSCI, Inc. (“MSCI”). XESG, XSUS, XSEA, XSEM, XCSR, XUSR and XDSR are permitted to use the MSCI mark and, as applicable, the EAFE mark pursuant to a license agreement between MSCI and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., relating to, among other things, the license granted to BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. to use the indices. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. has sublicensed the use of these trademarks to BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. XESG, XSUS, XSEA, XSEM, XCSR, XUSR and XDSR are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MSCI and MSCI makes no representation, condition or warranty regarding the advisability of investing in XESG, XSUS, XSEA, XSEM, XCSR, XUSR and XDSR.RBC iShares ETFs are comprised of RBC ETFs managed by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and iShares ETFs managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.® / TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license. iSHARES is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. Used under license. © 2020 BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited and RBC Global Asset Management Inc. All rights reserved.For more information, please contact:Maeve Hannigan, BlackRock Communications, 416-564-1540¹ Morningstar, Sustainable Funds U.S. Landscape Report (14 February 2020); reported in USD.² If applicable, BlackRock Canada or an affiliate is entitled to receive a fee for acting as manager of each iShares ETF in which this ETF may invest (an “underlying product fee”) and together with the management fee payable to BlackRock Canada, the “total annual fee”). As the underlying product fees are embedded in the market value of the iShares ETFs in which this ETF may invest, any underlying product fees are borne indirectly by this ETF. BlackRock Canada will adjust the management fee payable to it by this ETF to ensure that the total annual fees paid directly or indirectly to BlackRock Canada and its affiliates by this ETF will not exceed the percentage of the net asset value set out in this table. The total annual fee is exclusive of HST. Any underlying product fees borne indirectly by this ETF are calculated and accrued daily and are paid not less than annually. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this press release have the meaning ascribed to them in the ETFs’ prospectus.³ Based on US$6.47 trillion in AUM as of 3/31/20