iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF lists GBP-hedged class WCGH on the London Stock Exchange

BlackRock has listed a new share class of the iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF on the London Stock Exchange. The GBP Hedged (Distributing) class trades from today, 16 October 2026, under the ticker WCGH (ISIN IE000B2UB1Q3), with a total expense ratio of 0.35%. The GBP-hedged ETF gives sterling-based investors access to an actively managed equity income ETF that combines quantitative stock selection with the sale of index call options, while reducing the effect of currency movements against the fund’s underlying exposures.

A sterling share class for an existing fund

WCGH is a new share class of an existing fund, not a new fund. According to BlackRock, the fund was launched on 22 March 2024, has a US dollar base currency and is a sub-fund of iShares III plc, an Irish-domiciled umbrella company.

The GBP Hedged (Distributing) class has an inception date of 14 October 2026. The London Stock Exchange is its only listing, in sterling, according to the issuer’s product page.

The fund already offers four other share classes, as listed by BlackRock:

USD (Accumulating) – ticker WINA

USD (Distributing) – ticker WINC

EUR Hedged (Accumulating)

EUR Hedged (Distributing)

The fund was originally marketed as the iShares World Equity High Income UCITS ETF. The current product documentation uses the name iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF.

Investment objective of the iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF

BlackRock states the investment objective as follows: “The Fund is actively managed and aims to generate income and capital growth with lower volatility than developed market equities.”

The issuer highlights three features of the WCGH share class:

The fund is actively managed and aims to generate income using proprietary quantitative (mathematical or statistical) forecast models, to achieve a systematic, rule-based approach to stock selection.

The fund aims to generate additional income by selling call options and buying futures on developed market large and mid capitalisation indices.

The fund is categorised as an Article 8 fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), meaning it promotes environmental and/or social characteristics, provided that the companies in which it invests follow good governance practices.

How the equity income strategy works

According to the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) dated 14 October 2026, in normal market conditions the fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in equities and equity-related instruments, namely call options, futures and swaps, of developed market large and mid capitalisation companies.

The strategy has two income sources. The first is the equity portfolio itself, built through quantitative models. The second is the premium collected from selling call options on developed market indices. Selling call options generates income but limits participation in market rises above the strike price. The fund also buys index futures.

When the fund family was first listed on Xetra in 2024, Deutsche Börse described the futures purchases in the US sister fund as a way to reduce the impact of the potential profit cap created by the sale of call options. It added that the World fund follows a similar approach, using indices such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100, Nikkei and EURO STOXX 50.

The KIID states that the investment manager may use financial derivative instruments for investment purposes, to reduce risk, to reduce costs and to generate additional income. Through derivatives, the fund may generate varying amounts of market leverage.

Benchmark and active management

The fund is actively managed. BlackRock uses the MSCI World Index (Net) as a comparator benchmark. According to the KIID, the investment manager may take the index into account when building the portfolio and for risk management, but is not bound by its components or weightings. The fund may also invest in securities outside the index, and its holdings are expected to deviate materially from it.

The portfolio managers named by BlackRock are Robert Fisher, Anna Hawley and Raffaele Savi.

GBP-hedged ETF: currency hedging and distributions

The fund’s base currency is the US dollar, while WCGH is denominated in sterling. According to the KIID, the shares are hedged with the aim of reducing the effect of exchange rate fluctuations between sterling and the currencies of the fund’s underlying portfolio, or its base currency. FX forward contracts are among the instruments used. The KIID notes that the hedging strategy may not completely eliminate currency risk.

WCGH is a distributing share class. Income is paid quarterly.

BlackRock’s product page lists the class as ISA eligible and available in a SIPP. The UK reporting fund status field for the new class is currently blank on the issuer’s page.

ESG classification under SFDR and SDR

The fund is classified under Article 8 of the SFDR. Under the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), BlackRock lists it as “ESG Overseas”.

BlackRock states that the fund seeks to exclude companies engaging in certain activities inconsistent with ESG criteria. The issuer adds that this screening may reduce the investment universe and may affect the value of the fund’s investments compared with a fund without such screening.

Conclusions

The listing of WCGH on the London Stock Exchange adds a sterling-hedged, quarterly distributing option to the iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF, a fund launched in 2024 that held around USD 914 million at 15 October 2026. The strategy combines quantitative stock selection in developed market equities with the sale of index call options and the purchase of index futures. The stated aim is income and capital growth with lower volatility than developed market equities.

The share class has a TER of 0.35%, the same as the other classes of the fund. As the class has just been launched, its assets are small and it has no track record of its own. Investors will be able to assess the level and stability of its quarterly distributions once the first payments are made.