Erste Asset Management has introduced its first two exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking the debut of ETFs with an Austrian investment manager. The ERSTE ETF GLOBAL EQUITIES UCITS ETF and the ERSTE ETF US EQUITIES UCITS ETF are designed to provide investors with access to developed global equities and U.S. equities, respectively, while incorporating a sustainability filter aligned with Erste Asset Management’s ESG approach. Both ETFs track Solactive equity indices and are classified under Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The ETFs were launched in cooperation with Carne Group, which serves as the management company, while Erste Asset Management acts as the fund's investment manager.
The launch comes as investors continue to seek transparent and cost-efficient equity exposure while sustainability considerations remain an important element of portfolio construction across investor segments. With these two ETFs, Erste Asset Management combines broad market exposure with baseline ESG screening in a listed format designed for long-term investment.
The Solactive Developed Markets Large Cap 250 Base EUR Index and the Solactive USA Large Cap 250 Base USD Index are the underlying indices for the two products. The indices are designed to represent 250 of the largest securities in their respective markets, selected from the relevant Solactive GBS large- and mid-cap universes. Eligible companies must meet liquidity and price history requirements and, for the developed markets index, specified country and currency eligibility criteria. The indices incorporate a sustainability framework based on a whitelist defined by Erste Asset Management and apply an optimization process that seeks to minimize ex-ante tracking error relative to the respective benchmark while maintaining diversification. The indices are reviewed and rebalanced semi-annually.
The ETFs were listed on Xetra on 16 July 2026 under the ticker symbols EEGF and ESUF.
Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive, commented: “We are pleased to support Erste Asset Management in the launch of its first ETF range and in bringing the first ETFs with an Austrian investment manager to market. With these two index solutions, we provide transparent access to global and U.S. equity markets through a rules-based methodology that combines broad large-cap exposure with clearly defined sustainability criteria.”
Heinz Bednar, CEO of Erste Asset Management, commented: “With the new Erste ETFs, we are creating simple and transparent access to the global and US equity markets. They are suitable as long-term building blocks in a portfolio and combine the advantages of exchange-traded index funds with Erste Asset Management’s sustainability approach.”
Daniel Osborne, Managing Director and Head of ETF Solutions at Carne Group, said: “We're delighted to partner with Erste Asset Management on the launch of its first ETF range. As more asset managers expand their ETF capabilities, demand continues to grow for operating models that bring together regulatory expertise, governance and operational infrastructure within a single solution. Through our ETF Platform, we look forward to working alongside Solactive to support the growth of Erste's ETF offering.”
