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Pax World Introduces New Social ETF
May 20, 2010
SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) – Pax World introduced the first fund in its new ETF lineup known as “ESG Shares.”
The ESG Shares North America Sustainability Index ETF (NYSEArca: NASI) is linked to the FTSE KLD North America Sustainability Index, a broadly diversified, sector-neutral index of American and Canadian companies screened by KLD Research.
ESG Shares target an investment theme that integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment analysis and decision making.
“We are very excited to be offering the first family of ETFs focused exclusively on sustainability indexes constructed by our partners, KLD Indexes and FTSE,” said Pax World President and CEO Joe Keefe. “Now there are ETF solutions for investors who seek to capture the potential returns associated with superior ESG or sustainability performance.”
According to Pax World, ESG Shares will offer all the advantages typically associated with ETFs, but with the added value of being driven by a “Sustainable Investing methodology.”
The annual expense ratio for NASI is 0.50%, which is in line with similar socially responsible oriented ETFs.
Pax World also plans to launch the ESG Shares FTSE Environmental Technologies (ET50) Index ETF (Ticker: ETFY) on May 21 and the ESG Shares Europe Asia Pacific Sustainability Index ETF (Ticker: EAPS) on May 25. Both funds are expected to have annual expenses of 0.55%.
Other New ETF Offerings
In related news, the SPDR Barclays Capital International Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBND) was launched by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).
IBND is designed to provide exposure to the investment-grade corporate bonds outside of the U.S. The fund is benchmarked to the Barclays Capital Global Aggregate ex-USD > $1 billion Aggregate Bond Index. The underlying holdings include both Euro-Dollar and Euro-Yen corporate bonds, Canadian government, agency, and corporate securities that have a minimum of $1 billion market capitalization and at least one year remaining to maturity. IBND’s annual expense ratio is 0.55%.
As of April 30, 2010, SSgA managed more than $11 billion in 19 fixed income SPDRs.
Finally, IndexIQ launched the IQ Taiwan Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca: TWON). TWON has around 99 stocks with a median market cap of $462 million. The fund’s annual expenses, which include foreign tax, are 0.91%. |
