The names of ETFs vary a lot. Some are fairly self-explanatory, featuring the provider and the index, like the iShares S&P 500. Others are more complex and hold more information, like the Invesco MSCI USA ESG Universal Screened.
Knowing how to read the composite parts of an ETF’s name can make selecting from for your portfolio that much easier. In this post, we’ll break down what each section of an ETF’s name means.
Let’s take the Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc as our example. This is a particularly long ETF name with a stack of information in it.
Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc
The first part is easy: it’s the provider. So, the issuer of the ETF may be iShares, or Invesco, or WisdomTree.
Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc
The second part is typically what the ETF tracks. This could be the underlying index eg. the S&P 500, or the commodity, the theme, etc.
Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc
Next up is any relevant regulatory information. UCITS, for example, is a voluntary set of rules which many ETFs follow. UCITS funds are generally seen as safe and well-regulated investments.
Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc
This one is straightforward: exchange-traded fund.
Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc
This part may be part of the ETF name or part of the associated information. This is considered ‘additional information’. In this case, ‘Acc’ describes the use of the revenue and means that the investment accumulates over time.
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