Barclays Global Investors Canada announced the launch of this country’s first socially responsible exchange traded fund(ETF), in partnership with Jantzi Research.
The fund seeks to provide exposure to companies that have positive environmental, social, and governance attributes.
It will track the Jantzi Social Index, a socially screened, market capitalization-weighted common stock index consisting of 60 companies that pass a set of broadly based environmental, social, and governance rating criteria.
Some of the companies in the index include Shoppers Drug Mart, EnCana, Alcan, BCE, and Research In Motion.
The ETF “fulfills a need that investors have had in Canada for quite some time,” says Heather Pelant, head of business development, exchange traded products at Barclays Canada.
The popularity of socially responsible investing has increased substantially recently. To read, SRI assets grow 669% in two years, click here.
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