State Street Global Advisors Launches SPDR® Nuveen Municipal Bond ESG ETF

MBNE combines advantages of federal tax-free income from municipal bonds with active management and ESG criteria

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced the launch of the SPDR Nuveen Municipal Bond ESG ETF (MBNE). Sub-advised by Nuveen, a recognized leader in the municipal bond market, MBNE is actively managed and is designed to invest in municipal securities from issuers that are leaders in their sector in delivering environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes or whose proceeds are used towards positive environmental or social projects.

“The prospect of higher taxes coupled with rising uncertainty surrounding future interest rate hikes have increased demand for actively managed municipal bond ETFs,” said Brie Williams, head of practice management at State Street Global Advisors. “At the same time demand for municipal bond exposure is growing, investors are increasingly looking beyond equities for ESG exposure, which is why we’re excited about the expansion of our SPDR ETF municipal bond lineup and the partnership we’ve built with Nuveen to launch MBNE.”

With over seven decades of collective experience investing in municipal bonds, Tim Ryan, Shawn O’Leary and David Blair will leverage Nuveen’s proprietary ESG Municipal Bond Scoring Tool to select bonds from issuers that are leaders in environmental stewardship, strong governance and positive social outcomes. The strategy will primarily consist of investment-grade, tax-exempt municipal securities ranging from 2 to 17 years in maturity issued by U.S. municipalities. To identify potential municipal bonds for investment, Nuveen utilizes a value-oriented strategy which is designed to identify higher-yielding and undervalued municipal bonds that offer above-average total return potential.

“As investors become more familiar with ESG-integrated strategies, Nuveen has created a proprietary framework that is designed to identify the municipal bond issuers that support income generation for investors and achieve positive ESG outcomes in their communities,” said Tim Ryan, municipal portfolio manager at Nuveen. “The fund is also designed to provide exposure to bonds whose proceeds are used towards positive environmental or social projects addressing critical issues including climate change, environmental degradation, inequality, poverty, and justice and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

SSGA Funds Management, Inc. serves as investment adviser to MBNE and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC serves as investment sub-adviser to MBNE.

For more information on the SPDR Nuveen Municipal Bond ESG ETF, visit www.ssga.com/etfs.

About SPDR Exchange Traded Funds

SPDR ETFs are a comprehensive family spanning an array of international and domestic asset classes. SPDR ETFs are sponsored by affiliates of State Street Global Advisors. The funds provide investors with the flexibility to select investments that are aligned to their investment strategy. For more information, visit www.ssga.com/etfs

About State Street Global Advisors

State Street Global Advisors serves governments, institutions and financial advisors with a rigorous approach, breadth of capabilities and belief that good stewardship is good investing for the long term. Pioneers in index, ETF, and ESG investing and the world’s fourth-largest asset manager*, we are always inventing new ways to invest.

*Pensions & Investments Research Center, as of 12/31/20.

About Nuveen

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2021 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.

Important Risk Disclosures

Investing involves risk including the risk of loss of principal.

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Bonds generally present less short-term risk and volatility than stocks, but contain interest rate risk (as interest rates raise, bond prices usually fall); issuer default risk; issuer credit risk; liquidity risk; and inflation risk. These effects are usually pronounced for longer-term securities. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to a substantial gain or loss.

A Fund’s incorporation of ESG considerations in its investment process may cause it to make different investments than funds that do not incorporate such considerations in their strategy or investment processes. Under certain economic conditions, this could cause a Fund’s investment performance to be worse than funds that do not incorporate such considerations. A Fund’s incorporation of ESG considerations may affect its exposure to certain sectors and/or types of investments, and may adversely impact the Fund’s performance depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market.

ETFs trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk, fluctuate in market value and may trade at prices above or below the ETFs net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns.

Equity securities may fluctuate in value and can decline significantly in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions.

The value of the debt securities may increase or decrease as a result of the following: market fluctuations, increases in interest rates, inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in the debt securities markets; the risk of low rates of return due to reinvestment of securities during periods of falling interest rates or repayment by issuers with higher coupon or interest rates; and/or the risk of low income due to falling interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. This may result in a reduction in income from debt securities income.

The municipal market is volatile and can be significantly affected by adverse tax, legislative or political changes and the financial condition of the issuers of municipal securities. Interest rate increases can cause the price of a debt security to decrease. A portion of the dividends you receive may be subject to federal, state, or local income tax or may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

The fund is actively managed. The sub-adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, relative value, or potential appreciation of a particular sector, security, commodity or investment strategy may prove to be incorrect, and may cause the fund to incur losses. There can be no assurance that the sub-adviser’s investment techniques and decisions will produce the desired results.

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Distributor: State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of State Street Corporation. References to State Street may include State Street Corporation and its affiliates. Certain State Street affiliates provide services and receive fees from the SPDR ETFs.

State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC is the distributor for some registered products on behalf of the advisor. SSGA Funds Management, Inc. has retained Nuveen Asset Management as the sub-advisor. State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC is not affiliated with Nuveen Asset Management.

Before investing, consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information, call 1-866-787-2257 or visit ssga.com. Read it carefully.

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All Rights Reserved.

4225785.1.1.AM.RTL Exp. Date: 04/30/2023

Not FDIC Insured No Bank Guarantee May Lose Value

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Deborah Heindel

+1 617 662 9927

DHEINDEL@StateStreet.com



E-Soo Kim

+1 212 207 2012

E-Soo.Kim@nuveen.com

Source: State Street Corporation