Barclays Global Investors Canada Ltd. today announced the launch of Canada’s first socially responsible exchange traded fund (ETF), in partnership with Jantzi Research Inc., Canada’s premier firm offering socially responsible investment research.

The launch of the iShares CDN Jantzi Social Index Fund (XEN) was coupled with the launch of Canada’s first small cap ETFs: iShares CDN SmallCap Index Fund (XCS) and iShares CDN Russell 2000 Index Fund (XSU).

All three funds will begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 18.

XEN is designed for socially responsible Canadian investors and seeks to provide exposure to companies that have positive environmental, social and governance attributes. XEN will track the highly regarded Jantzi Social Index, a socially screened, market capitalization-weighted common stock index consisting of 60 Canadian companies that pass a set of broadly based environmental, social, and governance rating criteria.

“The launch of XEN combines two of the strongest trends in investing today — the rise of ETFs and the growing desire of investors to align their investments with their values,” said Heather Pelant, head of business development, exchange traded products at Barclays Canada.

Pelant, joined by Michael Jantzi, President and Founder of Jantzi Research Inc., described the growing SRI landscape to investment advisors during this morning’s briefing at an eco-friendly building in downtown Toronto. Pelant and Jantzi explained that the new ETF will provide exposure to the JSI at a much lower cost to investors.

“More and more, Canadian investors want their investments to reflect their values on issues like the environment and corporate governance and we are very pleased to partner with Barclays Canada to meet this need in the Canadian marketplace,” said Jantzi. “Since the Jantzi Social Index launched seven years ago, it has increased its value by almost 78 percent. That represents a stronger performance than the S&P/TSX Composite and the S&P/TSX 60.”

In Canada, SRI assets are valued at over $500 billion, representing a staggering 20 per cent of the combined retail mutual fund market and the institutional investment market. In addition, SRI assets have grown almost tenfold since 2005.

Barclays Canada also introduced the two ETFs that track Canadian and U.S. small cap indices.

The iShares CDN SmallCap Index Fund (XCS) will be the first exchange traded fund to track the new S&P/TSX small cap index. XCS is expected to give investors a better ability to express their views on Canadian equity exposure based on market capitalization.

The iShares CDN Russell 2000 Index Fund (XSU) will provide increased flexibility for investors to choose U.S. small cap exposure without currency risk. Through XSU, Barclays Canada is offering Canadian-dollar hedged exposure to the Russell 2000 Index, which is comprised of smaller U.S. public issuers.