What Does a Biden Administration Mean for U.S. Green Bonds?
December 10, 2020
Read Time 4 MIN
Despite lack of federal support from current and previous administrations, the U.S. has a large green bond market comprising corporate, agency and muni issuers with over $200bn of issuance, accounting for 21% of the global market and ranking it #1 in terms of country of issuer.1 However, the U.S. green bond market is far from where it should be based on the size of its bond market, and even further from where it needs to be to finance a transition to a low carbon economy. There is hope that President-elect Biden’s administration could help spur U.S. green finance and investment, including green bonds. We highlight here a few ways this could happen:
- Climate plan: Much focus has been given to Biden’s $1.7tn plan, which leverages additional private and local investment of $5tn. The plan is centered around a goal of setting the U.S. on the path to be a net-zero emitter by 2050, with 100% reliance on clean energy. The plan includes a 50% reduction in building emissions, investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, rail electrification and “green” hydrogen access for industry—all of which would require significant investment. A divided government makes passage in its full form unlikely. However, more limited measures, fiscal spending on infrastructure initiatives and/or executive orders that advance this agenda are possible.
- International engagement: Biden has pledged to re-enter the Paris Agreement on day one of his presidency, which would open the door for increased global cooperation on climate plans and green finance. The U.S. would join the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea in committing to aggressive emission reduction targets, and could take more of a leadership role in crafting global agreements going forward. Cooperation on global green finance standards—for example, by leveraging the planned E.U. green bond standards—could provide regulatory certainty to investors and issuers, and help to grow the U.S. green bond market.
- Potential regulatory and agency actions: There are various regulatory actions that the incoming administration has signaled support for that could encourage green investment or remove existing hurdles, including some which could be achieved without legislation. For example, Biden has pledged to require publicly traded companies to disclose their climate risks and emissions levels, a move experts say could help companies, investors and regulators make better-informed decisions. Many investor groups are hoping for a reversal of Trump-era Department of Labor rules that many believe limit the ability of pension funds to incorporate ESG factors in investment decisions. And what about a green bond issued by the U.S. Treasury? Many countries have already done this, including France, Germany and Chile. The United Kingdom and Canada are expected to come to market in 2021. A U.S. green bond issuance would be a high profile demonstration of renewed U.S. commitment to global climate goals, federal support for the green bond market and provide the global debt markets with a new green benchmark. It would also be an opportunity to finance green infrastructure proposals.
Many obstacles exist to realizing all of these outcomes in full, but it’s worth noting that investors continue to push for better reporting and disclosures on climate risk. Demand for ESG strategies has also continued to grow significantly under the current administration. Among U.S. bond ETFs alone, there has been $1.8bn of YTD inflows into sustainable strategies through October 31—more than three times the past five years combined.2
The Federal Reserve recently acknowledged climate as a risk to financial stability and signaled its intention to join a global consortium of central bankers working to enhance the role of the financial system to manage climate risks and mobilize capital for green investment. They join the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which recently put out a bipartisan report examining the risk of climate change to the U.S. financial system and ways the financial system can provide solutions.
In short, despite a divided government, recognition of climate risk is growing among policymakers and investors, and green financing solutions may continue to experience rapid growth as a result. A more proactive administration, with favorable polices and fiscal measures on green infrastructure, could result in a significant scaling up of the U.S. green bond market.
The VanEck Vectors® Green Bond ETF (GRNB) seeks to replicate, as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the S&P Green Bond U.S. Dollar Select Index. The index is comprised of U.S. dollar-denominated green bonds that are issued to finance environmentally friendly projects, and includes bonds issued by supranational, government and corporate issuers globally.
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DISCLOSURE
1Source: Climate Bonds Initiative
2Source: Morningstar as of 10/31/2020
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are valid as of the date of this communication and subject to change without notice. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck.
An investment in the Fund may be subject to risks which include, among others, green bonds, investing in Asian, Chinese and emerging market issuers, foreign securities, foreign currency, credit, interest rate, floating rate, floating rate LIBOR, high yield securities, supranational bond, government-related bond, restricted securities, securitized/asset-backed securities, financial, utilities, market, operational, call, sampling, index tracking, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares, non-diversified and concentration risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund.
The S&P Green Bond U.S. Dollar Select Index (the “Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”). Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (the “Fund”) is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck”) with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to VanEck or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation to take the needs of VanEck or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Van Eck Associates Corporation. Copyright © 2018 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC’s indices please visit www.spdji.com. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.
ESG investing is qualitative and subjective by nature, and there is no guarantee that the factors utilized by VanEck or any judgment exercised by VanEck will reflect the opinions of any particular investor. Information regarding responsible practices is obtained through voluntary or third-party reporting, which may not be accurate or complete, and VanEck is dependent on such information to evaluate a company’s commitment to, or implementation of, responsible practices. Socially responsible norms differ by region. There is no assurance that the socially responsible investing strategy and techniques employed will be successful.
ESG integration is the practice of incorporating material environmental, social and governance (ESG) information or insights alongside traditional measures into the investment decision process to improve long term financial outcomes of portfolios. Unless otherwise stated within the Fund’s investment objective, inclusion of this statement does not imply that the Fund has an ESG-aligned investment objective, but rather describes how ESG information is integrated into the overall investment process.
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck/etf.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
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DISCLOSURE
1Source: Climate Bonds Initiative
2Source: Morningstar as of 10/31/2020
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are valid as of the date of this communication and subject to change without notice. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck.
An investment in the Fund may be subject to risks which include, among others, green bonds, investing in Asian, Chinese and emerging market issuers, foreign securities, foreign currency, credit, interest rate, floating rate, floating rate LIBOR, high yield securities, supranational bond, government-related bond, restricted securities, securitized/asset-backed securities, financial, utilities, market, operational, call, sampling, index tracking, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares, non-diversified and concentration risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund.
The S&P Green Bond U.S. Dollar Select Index (the “Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”). Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (the “Fund”) is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck”) with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to VanEck or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation to take the needs of VanEck or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Van Eck Associates Corporation. Copyright © 2018 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC’s indices please visit www.spdji.com. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.
ESG investing is qualitative and subjective by nature, and there is no guarantee that the factors utilized by VanEck or any judgment exercised by VanEck will reflect the opinions of any particular investor. Information regarding responsible practices is obtained through voluntary or third-party reporting, which may not be accurate or complete, and VanEck is dependent on such information to evaluate a company’s commitment to, or implementation of, responsible practices. Socially responsible norms differ by region. There is no assurance that the socially responsible investing strategy and techniques employed will be successful.
ESG integration is the practice of incorporating material environmental, social and governance (ESG) information or insights alongside traditional measures into the investment decision process to improve long term financial outcomes of portfolios. Unless otherwise stated within the Fund’s investment objective, inclusion of this statement does not imply that the Fund has an ESG-aligned investment objective, but rather describes how ESG information is integrated into the overall investment process.
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck/etf.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.