UBS announces launch of new Global Gender Equality UCITS ETF

London / Zurich, 8 January 2018 – UBS today launches the UBS (lrl) ETF plc – Global Gender Equality UCITS ETF as part of its growing suite of impact investment opportunities for its clients.

The ETF will invest in the Solactive Equileap Global Gender Equality 100 Leaders index, an index of 100 leading global companies with a strong record in gender diversity and sustainability. The companies were selected based on 19 diversity criteria, including equal compensation and work-life balance, transparency and accountability, gender balance, and sustainability policies. The index includes the 30 highest rated US stocks, yet caps single issuers at 3% of the ETF's assets. With its broad criteria, the index provides a higher overall gender equality score than other Global Gender Equality Indexes, whilst providing stable risk-adjusted performance.

The ETF is a joint collaboration between UBS Asset Management and UBS Wealth Management and is part of UBS's commitment to sustainable and impact investing. UBS will dedicate 5% of management fees received in relation to the ETF, to philanthropic projects supporting the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 5 via the UBS Optimus Foundation. Through its choice of index, the ETF also contributes to Equileap, a social enterprise committed to accelerating progress towards gender equality in the workplace, using the power of investments, knowledge and donations.

In recent research, UBS Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office analyzed several profitability metrics for companies in the FTSE Developed World Index, and found that companies with women making up at least 20% of the board and senior management (higher than the reported averages of 17% and 11% for the index) had higher returns than their less gender-diverse peers. The same was true for companies that have more than 30% women in overall management positions (higher than the reported average of 25%), and for overall 40–60% women employees (the average was 36%).[1]

Michael Baldinger, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at UBS Asset Management said: "This is another big step in sustainable and impact investing innovation. The launch of this new ETF provides investors with a unique opportunity to benefit from systematically investing in the leading global companies on gender diversity, based on Equileap's pioneering research into corporate gender diversity, while at the same time having the potential to achieve strong returns."

Clemens Reuter, Head of Passive & ETF Investment Specialists at UBS Asset Management said: "We are very excited to add this innovative index offering, to our SRI product shelf. Since UBS Asset Management launched its first Socially Responsible ETF in 2011, we have continually expanded our offering across equity and fixed income for investors and today have 43 ETFs, including currency hedged share classes, dedicated to SRI and manage over USD 2.7bn as the #1 provider[2] of Socially Responsible ETFs in Europe."

Olga Miler, Managing Director at UBS Wealth Management said: "In 2017 we launched a five-year plan to significantly scale our efforts for female clients and make the wealth management industry work better for women. This ETF is another example of how we are doing that. Gender equality is important to our clients and our business. The combination of broad gender equality criteria, sustainability and donation make this ETF a leap step forward in connecting capital to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 5 – achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls."

Rachel Whittaker, Sustainable Investing Strategist at UBS Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office said: "Our research indicates that gender diverse companies tend to outperform on various profitability measures. We believe these findings support approaches to gender lens investing that take into account diversity at all levels of the organization as well as in leadership positions."

UBS Asset Management have been managing index investments for over 30 years. As at 30 September 2017, total index AUM stood at USD 288 billion across ETFs, pooled funds and segregated mandates.

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. The operational structure of the Group is comprised of our Corporate Center and five business divisions: Wealth Management, Wealth Management Americas, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management and the Investment Bank. UBS's strategy builds on the strengths of all of its businesses and focuses its efforts on areas in which it excels, while seeking to capitalize on the compelling growth prospects in the businesses and regions in which it operates, in order to generate attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders. All of its businesses are capital-efficient and benefit from a strong competitive position in their targeted markets.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 52 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 14% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 61,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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UBS (lrl) ETF plc – Global Gender Equality UCITS ETF is an investment institution (beleggingsinstelling) within the meaning of the AFM and registered in the Dutch register held with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten). Representative in the Netherlands for UBS funds established under foreign law: UBS Asset Management, UBS Ltd Nederlandse Vestiging, Rembrandt Tower – 18e verdieping, Amstelplein 1, 1096 HA AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands. Prospectuses, the key investor information, the articles of association or the management regulations as well as annual and semi-annual reports of UBS funds are available in a language required by the local applicable law free of charge from UBS Ltd Nederlandse Vestiging or on the internet at www.ubs.com/fondsen.

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Solactive is a registered trade mark of Solactive AG. Solactive AG ("Licensor") holds or is the legal owner of the rights of the Solactive Equileap Global Gender Equality 100 Leaders Net Total Return Index. The UBS fund is not sponsored, promoted, sold or supported by the Licensor nor does the Licensor offer any express or implicit guarantee.

¹ Source: 'Sustainable investing update: Gender diversity matters' research note, Chief Investment Office, UBS Wealth Management, December 2017

² Source: Morningstar as at 18.12.17