KraneShares Launches Ultra Short Duration Investment Grade Bond ETF (KCSH) Designed for Sustainable Impact

NEW YORK, July 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Krane Funds Advisors, LLC ("KraneShares"), an asset management firm known for its global exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the launch of the KraneShares Sustainable Ultra Short Duration Index ETF (Ticker: KCSH) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

KCSH tracks the Solactive ISS Sustainable Select 0-1 Year USD Corporate IG Index, which is designed to measure the performance of US dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate debt with a maturity of up to one year with a concentration on socially and climate conscious companies. The Index uses screening criteria based on Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) climate analysis and carbon emissions thresholds to align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C scenario by 2050 while providing a distribution of credit and interest rate risk that is similar to commonly used ultra-short duration, investment grade bond benchmarks.

"With investors looking to diversify their equities, and with few incentives to extend duration, KCSH seeks to maximize current income through ultra-short duration, investment grade bonds,"* said KraneShares Head of Climate Investments Luke Oliver. "As with the rest of KraneShares climate-focused suite of ETFs, KCSH can offer compelling potential returns while supporting the decarbonization of the global economy."

"KCSH can help deliver attractive yield potential through ultra-short duration investment grade fixed income exposure," said KraneShares COO Jonathan Shelon. "KCSH combines KraneShares' ETF and climate investing expertise with Solactive’s indexing capabilities, expanding our offering of sophisticated and innovative strategies with sustainable impact to our clients."

"We are delighted to extend our partnership with KraneShares into the area of 'green cash’ investments. This index adheres to strict screening criteria and provides a powerful tool to invest in short-term bonds while ensuring the sustainability of the underlying assets," said Solactive's Chief Markets Officer Timo Pfeiffer. “With this launch, we believe we are setting an important milestone in the sustainable investing fixed income indexing space."

For more information on the KraneShares Sustainable Ultra Short Duration Index ETF (Ticker: KCSH), please visit https://kraneshares.com/kcsh or consult your financial advisor.

*Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.

About KraneShares

KraneShares is a specialist investment manager focused on China, Climate, and Uncorrelated Assets. KraneShares seeks to provide innovative, high-conviction, and first-to-market strategies based on the firm and its partners' deep investing knowledge. KraneShares identifies and delivers groundbreaking capital market opportunities and believes investors should have cost-effective and transparent tools for attaining exposure to various asset classes. The firm was founded in 2013 and serves institutions and financial professionals globally. The firm is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

About Solactive

Solactive is a leading provider of indexing, benchmarking, and calculation solutions for the global investment and trading community. Headquartered in Frankfurt and, with offices in Hong Kong, Toronto, Berlin, Dresden, and Amsterdam, we innovate and disrupt the status quo as the partner of choice for our clients.

The unique blend of our 300 staff’s expertise in data, data science, financial markets, and technology enables our clients’ continued success through the delivery of a superior experience, unique customization capabilities, and the best value for money available in the industry. With more than 30,000 indices calculated daily, we offer a full suite of solutions, including market-leading ESG and thematic indices.

As at January 2024, Solactive served approximately 500 clients across the world, with approximately US$300 billion invested in products linked to our indices. Solactive is registered with ESMA as a benchmark administrator and is supervised by the BaFin.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds' full and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting: https://kraneshares.com/kcsh. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Risk Disclosures:

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that a Fund will achieve its stated objectives. Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.

This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Certain content represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results; material is as of the dates noted and is subject to change without notice.

Fixed income securities carry credit and interest rate risks. Credit risk is the chance that an issuer may fail to make interest payments or repay principal, which can negatively impact fund performance. Securities with longer maturities and lower credit quality are more vulnerable to credit risk. Interest rate risk involves value changes in debt due to interest rate fluctuations; rising rates typically lower debt prices, while falling rates usually increase them. Longer-duration debt is more affected by these changes, making it more volatile. Recent interest rate hikes may continue, increasing associated risks.

The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, meaning that certain investments may become difficult to purchase or sell at a reasonable time and price. If a transaction for these securities is large, it may not be possible to initiate which may cause the Fund to suffer losses.

Large capitalization companies may struggle to adapt fast, impacting their growth compared to smaller firms, especially in expansive times. This could result in lower stock returns than investing in smaller and mid-sized companies. KSPY is non-diversified.

KCSH may have trouble identifying issuers with high ESG ratings, it can be challenging, and investments may be volatile. Even top-rated companies might not excel compared to others in ESG practices. The ESG investment strategy limits available opportunities, potentially leading to underperformance relative to non-ESG strategies. This could result in the Fund investing in underperforming sectors or securities. ESG investing is qualitative and subjective, and the criteria used may not align with every investor's beliefs or values.

The Fund is new and does not yet have a significant number of shares outstanding. If the Fund does not grow in size, it will be at greater risk than larger funds of wider bid-ask spreads for its shares, trading at a greater premium or discount to NAV, liquidation and/or a trading halt.

ETF shares are bought and sold on an exchange at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. However, shares may be redeemed at NAV directly by certain authorized broker- dealers (Authorized Participants) in very large creation/redemption units. The returns shown do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Beginning 12/23/2020, market price returns are based on the official closing price of an ETF share or, if the official closing price isn't available, the midpoint between the national best bid and national best offer ("NBBO") as of the time the ETF calculates the current NAV per share. Prior to that date, market price returns were based on the midpoint between the Bid and Ask price. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

The KraneShares ETFs and KFA Funds ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Company (SIDCO), 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, which is not affiliated with Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, the Investment Adviser for the Funds, or Climate Finance Partners , the Sub-Advisor for the Fund, or IHS Markit Ltd.

Contact:
Joseph Dube – KraneShares, Head of Marketing
Joseph.Dube@kraneshares.com