Invest in UN SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals that all UN Member nations have agreed to achieve by 2030 and adopted by all 193 UN member states. They set out an ambitious mission to eradicate issues that affect our society and environment. Partnerships for the goals have a central place in the UN's agenda through its SDG #17 “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development" and underpinned by 19 ambitious targets. In this article, we highlight how you can contribute to UN SDG Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals with ESG Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

17 SDGs for a better future

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals with 169 targets set by the United Nations in 2015 as a global initiative to tackle issues that affect humans and the environment we live in, with the hope of achieving tremendous progress by 2030.

The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:

1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequality
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life on Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships to Achieve the Goal

Each goal has several targets and is measured quantitatively by indicators provided by private and public entities. Creativity, know-how, technology, and financial resources from all stakeholders are necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context. The beauty of these goals is their interrelation, meaning that action in one area will affect outcomes in others. The development of those goals must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

To fully meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that an investment of $3.9 trillion is needed on average each year from 2015 to 2030 for the developing nations alone.

What is UN SDG GOAL #17: Partnerships for the goals

According to the United Nations, SDG 17 " Partnerships for the goals" seeks to encourage collaboration between governments, the private sector and civil society to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It is a call for countries to develop policies based on a shared vision that will place the welfare of people and the planet at the center.

SDG #17 has 19 targets set for completion by 2030:

1. Mobilize resources to improve domestic revenue collection
2. Implement all development assistance commitments
3. Mobilize financial resources for developing countries
4. Assist developing countries in attaining debt sustainability
5. Invest in least developed countries
6. Knowledge sharing and cooperation for access to science, technology, and innovation
7. Promote sustainable technologies to developing countries
8. Strengthen the science, technology, and innovation capacity for least developed countries
9. Enhance SDG capacity in developing countries
10. Promote a universal trading system under the WTO
11. Increase the exports of developing countries
12. Remove trade barriers for least developed countries
13. Enhance global macroeconomic stability
14. Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
15. Respect national leadership to implement policies for the sustainable development goals
16. Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development
17. Encourage effective partnerships
18. Enhance availability of reliable data
19. Further develop measurements of progress

To track progress, the United Nations along with all related stakeholders have established 25 statistical indicators attached to each target. This helps parties adapt and improve actions toward making the goal attainable by 2030. These indicators can be tracked on the SDG Tracker.

Investors can promote SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals with ESG ETFs

Today, impact investing has become the norm, with billions of dollars injected into the market in sustainable and responsible investments. These funds increasingly focus on opportunities aligned with UN's SDGs and ESG initiatives (Environmental, Social, Governance). Investors' values have spilt over corporate actions around the world. Today, corporate social responsibility departments (CSR) go from being a cost burden to a must-have that represents employees' and consumers' values.

The change in investors' mindsets has given birth to mutual funds and ETFs that provide exposure to securities that aim at achieving ESG or SDG goals. It allows them to invest in new opportunities that can result in wealth accumulation while making an impact.

List of ESG ETFs promoting Partnerships for the goals

Trackinsight analyzes the fact sheets and other publicly available information of all ETFs in the ESG universe. This information is screened to highlight an explicit tilt towards specific Sustainable Development Goals. Regarding the "Partnerships for the goals", Trackinsight identifies 2 ETFs totalling $492 million in assets.

ETFs supporting SDG #17

• iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF (SDG): $486 million
• Impact Shares Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF (SDGA): $5.7 million

iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF

The iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF (SDG) seeks to track the MSCI ACWI Sustainable Impact Index and invests in companies that produce goods or services that address at least one of the world's major social and environmental challenges as identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as education and climate change. In terms of country exposure, the United States has the highest share (27.52%), followed by Japan (16.4%), China (12.16%), Denmark (6.48%), and the United Kingdom (6.43%). The sector allocations are mainly spread across Consumer Staples (21.79%), Health Care (21.38%), Real Estate (15.98%), Industrials (14.55%), and Materials (14.36%). The fund's top leading names include West Fraser Timber Ltd. (4.77%), Kimberly Clark Corp. (4.26%), Daiwa House Industry Ltd. (4.21%), Amgen Inc. (3.62%), East Japan Railway (3.55%), Johnson Matthey PLC (3.5%), Umicore SA (3.41%), WH Group Ltd. (3.41%), Vestas Wind Systems (2.98%), and Eli Lilly (2.93%). Combined, they account for 37% of the fund's portfolio.

The fund has a total expense ratio of 0.49% and trades primarily on the NASDAQ. Since its inception on April 20th, 2016, SDG has generated a +94% cumulative return.

Impact Shares Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF

The Impact Shares Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF seeks to track the Morningstar Societal Development Index. The index provides exposure to companies engaged in practices and policies that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and that are actively promoting these goals in the world's least developed countries (LDCs). The United States has the highest country allocation (61.5%), followed by Switzerland (8.5%) and Canada (7.5%). The fund's sector allocations are mainly distributed across Financials (21.86%), Information Technology (20.59%), Health Care (14.05%), Consumer Staples (11.92%), Consumer Discretionary (9.85%), and Media & Entertainment (6.25%).

SDGA top leading names include Johnson & Johnson (5.07%), JP Morgan Chase & Co (4.43%), Nestle SA-REG (4.32%), Bank of America Corp. (3.69%), Alphabet Inc-Class A (3.16%), Abbvie Inc. (3.13%), Pepsico Inc. (2.79%), Cisco Systems Inc. (2.77%), Novartis AG-REG (2.55%), and Accenture Plc-Class A (2.41%). Combined they represent 34% of the fund's portfolio.

SDGA has a total expense ratio of 0.75% and trades primarily on the NYSE Arca. Since its inception on September 20th, 2018, the fund has generated a +47% cumulative return (as of January 31st, 2022).

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