Exchange
Traded Funds (ETFs).
This is an area that may well need little, if any introduction. Though a
recent addition to investment portfolios during the last decade, ETFs have become
an overnight sensation.
Definition: ETFs offer public investors an undivided interest in
a pool of securities and other assets, and thus, are similar in many ways to
traditional mutual funds, except that shares in an ETF can be bought and sold
throughout the day like stocks on an exchange through a broker- dealer.
ETFs therefore possess characteristics of traditional mutual funds, which
issue redeemable shares, and of closed-end investment companies, which
generally issue shares that trade at negotiated market prices on a national
securities exchange and are not redeemable (Source: Securities and Exchange
Commission).
This website
will not advocate investing in ETFs for a variety of reasons. For starters, they attract a
speculative nature in people. I just can’t reconcile the “making of a
quick buck” with ethically-based SRI. Other negatives include:
Tracking error, Index Composition, sometimes-high management expenses, opaque
operating structures, and hidden fees.
SRI ETFs, given
their niche nature only exacerbate these potential disadvantages. For
example, by default, an ETF tracking the S&P500 will likely have much lower
fees and little tracking error, compared to a small, new, exotic ETF tracking
solar energy. Besides, nearly all of the SRI ETFs are invested in Environmental
indices, rather than indices of socially responsible corporations (regardless
of whether they’re in green industries or not).
Lastly,
comparing this list to 2010’s list (nearly two years) shows the SRI list is
actually dwindling despite the general popularity of the investment
vehicle. For the reasons stated
above, this website recommends investors purchase open-end Mutual Funds (rather
than ETFs).
In the table
below are ETFs that try
to mimic the investment performance of Socially Responsible,
Environmentally-friendly, and Religiously Responsible indices. Note, for example, there are few, if
any SRI ETFs that a U.S. investor could reasonably purchase. Also note that, investment performance
has been weak with the best performing ETF rising 26% over the past one year
period (ending Sept’12). Readers may wish to download the excel file of the below table.
Notes on
Specific ETF names:
DB Europe
Christian: Excellent performance, low Beta,
and investments in large, stable diverse companies (within the STOXX Europe
Christian Index)
CCB Social
Responsibility: On
the opposite end of the spectrum is CCB Social Responsibility which has had weak
investment performance, high management expenses, and a portfolio (i.e., index)
with low diversification (36% are assets are invested in Banks).
text format below..
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| Ticker | Name | Domicile | Tot Ret 1Y | Industry Focus |
| 510090 CH | CCB SOC RESPONSIBILITY ETF | China | -10.88 | Socially Responsible |
| 120210 KS | KTB GREAT SRI ETF | South Korea | 22.61 | Socially Responsible |
| 148040 KS | KDB PIONEER SRI ETF | South Korea | N.A. | Socially Responsible |
| XEN CN | ISHARES JANTZI SOCIAL INDEX | Canada | 7.7 | Socially Responsible |
| XECD GR | DB EUROPE CHRISTIAN ETF | Ireland | 26.4 | Religiously Responsible |
| CIMBDVD SP | CIMB S&P ASIA PAC DVD ETF | Singapore | N.A. | Religiously Responsible |
| PBW US | POWERSHARES WILDERH CLEAN EN | United States | -36.6 | Environmentally Friendly |
| INRG LN | ISHARES S&P GL CLEAN ENERGY | Ireland | -41.84 | Environmentally Friendly |
| ECOO11 BZ | ISHARES CARBONO EFICIENTE | Brazil | N.A. | Environmentally Friendly |
| PBD US | POWERSHARES GBL CLEAN ENERGY | United States | -29.38 | Environmentally Friendly |
| KLD US | ISHARES MSCI USA ESG SELECT | United States | 16.44 | Environmentally Friendly |
| DSI US | ISHARES MSCI KLD 400 SOCIAL | United States | 18.72 | Environmentally Friendly |
| ICLN US | ISHARES S&P GBL CLEAN ENERGY | United States | -43.7 | Environmentally Friendly |
| PZD US | POWERSHARES CLEANTECH PORTFO | United States | -7.65 | Environmentally Friendly |
| QCLN US | FIRST TRUST NASDAQ CLEAN EDG | United States | -21.54 | Environmentally Friendly |
| NASI US | PAX MSCI NORTH AMERICA ESG I | United States | 12.43 | Environmentally Friendly |
| 138210 KS | KTB GREAT GREEN ETF | South Korea | -8.19 | Environmentally Friendly |
| HECO US | HUNTINGTON ECOLOGICAL STRATE | United States | N.A. | Environmentally Friendly |
| GIVE US | ADVISORSHARES GLOBAL ECHO ET | United States | N.A. | Environmentally Friendly |
| GRID US | FIRST TRST NASD CL EDG SGIIF | United States | 3.45 | Environmentally Friendly |
| EVX US | MARKET VECTORS ENV SERV ETF | United States | 6.25 | Environmentally Friendly |
| KSMCLNT IT | KSM CLEANTECH | Israel | 0.07 | Environmentally Friendly |
| CSAE SW | CSETF ON CS GLOBAL ATL ENERG | Ireland | -22.58 | Environmentally Friendly |
| 1347 JP | NIKKO ETF - FTSE JPN GREEN C | Japan | -9.5 | Environmentally Friendly |
| AWWF FP | AMUNDI ETF GREEN TECH | France | -16.32 | Environmentally Friendly |
| Data as of September 2002, Source: Bloomberg LLC | ||||
