Does local currency government debt matter?

Local currency government debt often forms a diversification component in investors' portfolios. With the responsible investing movement gathering pace, this important debt category is now offered as an ESG compliant option for debt investors. The J.P. Morgan Global Government ESG Liquid Bond Index is a comprehensive benchmark that extends across all liquid local currency government bonds. As of September 2019, this ESG index was comprised of 14 currencies, across 23 countries and tracks over USD 25 trillion of global government bonds. As such, it forms an attractive portfolio building block that greatly simplifies access to this important and potentially debt pool.