Etho Capital unveils fossil-free, socially responsible investing index

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 19 – Etho Capital announced its Etho Climate Leadership index, a fossil-free index and the first tool of its kind, that combines quantitative climate efficiency data with sustainability screening, according to a news release.

Etho Capital verified that companies met standards of fossil-free and socially responsible investing prior to be included in the index.

According to Etho Capital, the new index combines quantitative data, socially responsible investing expertise and broad sector diversification while using strategies that select the best equities for the future of the planet and portfolios.

In building the new index, Etho Capital said it reviewed more than 5,000 of the most commonly traded public companies and identified the most carbon-efficient climate leaders in each industry.

The company ranked almost all public companies around the world by carbon emissions per dollar invested, using climate performance data from Trucost, to select the index’s holdings.

Etho Capital said all fossil fuel, tobacco, weapons and gambling companies were eliminated from the index.

“Our new index and back tests show that investing in diversified climate efficiency has yielded higher returns for the past decade,” said president and chief sustainability officer Ian Monroe.

“Using our new data tool to visualize how the climate leadership index was constructed, we’re empowering investors to optimize for returns and sustainability at the same time,” Monroe said.

Etho Capital said it will launch an exchange-traded fund based on U.S. equities in the Etho Climate Leadership index later in 2015.

The new index and ETF now in development are the first of a series of products that Etho Capital said it will launch in an effort to build the world’s best fossil fuel-free investment solutions with superior environmental, social and financial returns.

Etho Capital is a mission-driven investment management company, based in San Francisco.

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