Socially-Responsible Exchange-Traded Fund Foreseen

At least one U.S. exchange has begun negotiations with the Financial Times Stock Exchange of London for the licensing rights to list exchange-traded funds that will track a new series of socially-responsible indices offered by FTSE, said Will Oulton, president of FTSE North America in New York.

"We will be looking for interested parties to come and join us in putting the product together," he said. While negotiations are underway, no final agreement has been reached, he said. Oulton declined to identify which exchanges or fund companies are currently negotiating with FTSE.

FTSE4Good, the new series of socially responsible indices, will track the U.K., European, U.S. and global markets and will be launched in June. The indices will list the largest 100 companies in each region that fit FTSE's social criteria, according to the exchange.

Each index will consist of companies that meet socially responsible criteria set forth by the Ethical Investment Research Service of London, Oulton said. In the U.S., the service will work with the Council on Economic Priorities of New York and Investor Responsibility Research Center of Washington, D.C. to identify U.S. companies that meet the criteria.

All of the money FTSE makes from licensing and providing data for the indices will be donated to UNICEF, Oulton said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Mutual funds Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING