Federated Hermes launches active ETF offering investors access to leading international companies

• Federated Hermes International Leaders ETF can serve as core international equity allocation
• Federated Hermes strategically expands ETF lineup to meet client interests and objectives in a wide range of market conditions

PITTSBURGH, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE: FHI), a global leader in active investing, today introduced Federated Hermes International Leaders ETF (CBOE: FHIL), designed for investors seeking international equity exposure through well-known, established global companies.

Utilizing deep fundamental analysis to identify undervalued companies across international markets, Federated Hermes International Leaders ETF seeks to achieve its objective of long-term capital growth by investing primarily in developed market stocks of high-quality, foreign companies that appear to be trading below their intrinsic value. Its high-conviction portfolio typically consists of 60 to 85 companies.  

The ETF is managed by Richard Winkowski, Jr., senior portfolio manager and head of the International Core/Value Team, and Dariusz Czoch, CFA, senior portfolio manager, who also manage the $1.5 billion Federated Hermes International Leaders Fund. Federated Hermes International Core/Value Team has more than 25 years of experience managing international equity strategies.

"Research from Federated Hermes' Portfolio Construction Team suggests incorporating international equities into the equity sleeve of a traditional stock-and-bond portfolio may improve risk-adjusted returns¹," said Paul A. Uhlman, president and chief executive officer of the Federated Advisory Companies. "With a concentrated portfolio filled with international industry leaders that provide products or services essential to everyday life, Federated Hermes International Leaders ETF is a compelling option for an international equity allocation."

"In expanding our ETF lineup, we have focused on meeting investor demand by offering ETF versions of our most popular strategies," said Brandon Clark, ETF business director at Federated Hermes. "Federated Hermes International Leaders ETF offers investors access to the benefits of international equity investments with the ETF vehicle's tax efficiency, transparency, liquidity and ease of use."

Federated Hermes offers actively managed ETFs designed to pursue growth, diversification or income generation for strategic or tactical needs. As of May 31, 2026, Federated Hermes manages more than $2.6 billion in ETF assets.

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE: FHI) is a global leader in active investment management, with $907.1 billion in assets under management, as of March 31, 2026. We deliver investment solutions that help investors target a broad range of outcomes and provide equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity management strategies to more than 11,000 institutions and intermediaries worldwide. Our clients include corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes has more than 2,000 employees in London, New York, Boston and offices worldwide. For more information, visit FederatedHermes.com/us.

Investors should carefully consider the ETF's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a summary prospectus or prospectus containing this and other information, contact us at 1-800-341-7400 or visit FederatedHermes.com/us. Please carefully read the summary prospectus or the prospectus before investing.

ETFs are subject to risks and fluctuate in value.

Diversification does not assure a profit nor protect against loss

The value of equity securities in the fund's portfolio will fluctuate and, as a result, the fund's share price may decline. Equity securities may decline in value because of an increase in interest rates or changes in the stock market.          

The fund is a new fund that recently commenced operations. New funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.

While stocks have higher return potential, they may be more volatile than bonds.

International investing involves special risks including currency risk, increased volatility, political risks, and differences in auditing and other financial standards. Prices of emerging market securities can be significantly more volatile than the prices of securities in developed countries, and currency risk and political risks are accentuated in emerging markets.

The fund's use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments.

Growth stocks tend to have higher valuations and thus are typically more volatile than value stocks. Growth stocks also may not pay dividends or may pay lower dividends than value stocks.

Value stocks tend to have higher dividends and thus have a higher income-related component in their total return than growth stocks. Value stocks also may lag growth stocks in performance, particularly in late stages of a market advance.

ETFs are generally more tax efficient than traditional mutual funds due to their structure. When investors redeem shares, ETFs can do so in-kind, meaning they exchange shares for underlying assets without triggering capital gains taxes for remaining investors. ETFs often distribute fewer capital gains to investors compared to mutual funds, leading to lower tax liabilities.

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. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. 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. NAVs are calculated using prices as of the end of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4:00 PM Eastern Time). Recent information, including information about the fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the fund's website at FederatedHermes.com/us.

¹ Sources: Morningstar, Inc., Federated Hermes, Inc. Based on returns from 1/1/76-12/31/24 of the S&P 500® (US equities), MSCI EAFE Index (international equities) and Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (bonds), Federated Hermes Portfolio Construction Solutions Team analysis found that a 39% allocation to US equities, 21% allocation to international equities and 40% allocation to bonds produced the highest long-term return with the lowest risk (standard deviation/volatility of returns) versus other allocation mixes in a traditional 60/40 stock-and-bond portfolio. This information is for illustrative purposes only and is not indicative of any specific investment. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index: Is an unmanaged index composed of securities from the Bloomberg Government/Corporate Bond Index, Mortgage-Backed Securities Index and the Asset-Backed Securities Index.

MSCI Europe, Australasia and Far East Index (EAFE): Is an equity index which captures large- and mid-cap representation across Developed Markets countries around the world, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.

S&P 500®: Is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.

Federated Securities Corp.is Distributor of the Federated Hermes Funds.

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SOURCE Federated Hermes, Inc.