ESGD vs PABD

ESGDAiShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF

PABDBiShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF

In short

ESGD The plain-vanilla international index fund, ESG-screened. Roughly 400 developed-market stocks from outside the US and Canada, tracking an MSCI EAFE ESG Focus index since 2016, for 0.20% a year.

PABD Most international sustainable funds run a broad ESG scorecard. PABD aims at one target: carbon. It tracks an MSCI World ex USA Paris-aligned climate index across roughly 400 developed-market stocks outside the US, for 0.12% a year.

Stated mandate

ESGD The fund seeks to track an index of international developed-market stocks outside the United States and Canada that have positive aggregate environmental, social, and governance characteristics.

PABD The fund seeks to track an index of international developed companies aligned with the Paris Agreement, providing core equity exposure while targeting the low-carbon transition and reduced climate-related risks.

Why people hold it

• ESGD Costs 0.20% a year, below the typical fee in its international ESG peer group.
• Roughly 400 stocks spanning developed markets outside the US and Canada: broad-market coverage, not a narrow thematic bet.ishares.com
• Tracks the MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index, keeping the familiar developed-markets shape while tilting toward companies with better aggregate ESG characteristics.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund trading since 2016, and one of the sturdier builds in its peer group.

• PABD Costs 0.12% a year, roughly half the typical fund in its international ESG peer group and under iShares' own broader ESG Aware EAFE fund, ESGD, at 0.20%.
• Climate is the whole mandate, not a side filter: the index applies Paris-aligned screens rather than a general ESG rating, across about 400 developed-market names outside the US.ishares.com
• The portfolio lines up with what the name promises, one of the more faithful implementations in its peer group, and it holds no US stocks by design.

Worth knowing

• ESGD Cheaper tickets exist on the same shelf: VSGX at 0.10%, iShares' own DMXF at 0.12%. The fee here buys scale, not the lowest sticker.
• The ESG screen leaves holdings different from a plain EAFE fund, so results can drift from the unscreened index in either direction.
• Moderately traded rather than one of the busiest tapes in the category, and distributions land once or twice a year rather than monthly.

• PABD Thinly traded next to the household-name international funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider and large orders need more care.
• Launched in 2024, so the live record is short, and the climate screens shift sector and stock weights away from a plain World ex USA index.
• Pays once or twice a year rather than quarterly, so distributions arrive in lumps.

Full ESGD profile⁠

Full PABD profile⁠