New ETF For Environmentalists

Loading...
Loading...

A new ETF was recently launched for the environmentally-conscious investors. The SPDR MSCI ASWI Low Carbon Target ETF LOWC tracks companies with low carbon emissions relative to there overall sales and market capitalization. The ETF intends to address two dimensions of carbon exposure: carbon emissions and fossil fuel reserves.

By building an index with companies that focus on the two characteristics, the ETF has comprised a list of energy efficient stocks. With energy efficiency comes lower costs, which frees up capital that could essentially be redistribute to shareholders or reinvested into the business.

The ETFis made up of 1292 publicly traded companies distributed across 10 industries and 44 countries. The financial stocks account for 23 percent of the portfolio making it the most heavily weighted sector. Over half of the portfolio is invested it the U.S. as the ETF has a weighting of 51 percent.

The top individual holdings include:

  • Apple Inc. AAPL at 1.8 percent
  • Microsoft Corporation MSFT making up 1 percent
  • Johnson & Johnson JNJ at 0.9 percent

Related Link: 3 Energy Sectors That Would Benefit From Planned Carbon Emission Reductions

On its December 3 inception, LOWC opened at $75.26. The low carbon ETF has a gross expense ratio of 0.30 percent.

Typically a niche ETF will offer the upside of a concentrated portfolio, all the while carrying a higher risk due to a lack of diversification. LOWC is not the typical niche ETF due to its diversity across countries and sectors. Additionally, with 1200 stocks in its portfolio, LOWC effectively counteracts any concentration risk.

The new ETF takes a unique approach to the carbon issues around the globe and the goal is to find environmentally conscious investors to back this type of investment strategy.

Loading...
Loading...
Posted In: Specialty ETFsNew ETFsETFscarbon emissionsenvironmentalniche ETFs
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...