Evolve Funds Group Inc. has filed a preliminary prospectus for two ETFs that will aim to offset the carbon footprints of large-cap stocks.
The Evolve S&P/TSX 60 CleanBeta ETF and the Evolve S&P 500 CleanBeta ETF will offer investors exposure to the performance of the funds’ respective indexes while also striving to offset the carbon footprints of the securities held in each portfolio, according to a release.
Evolve will use data from Trucost, a division of S&P Global, to determine the carbon footprints of the companies in each index and “employ a variety of strategies, including purchasing and retiring carbon credits” to neutralize those carbon footprints, the release said.
“Currently, trying to invest in only carbon-neutral companies results in a significant narrowing of the investable universe,” Raj Lala, president and CEO of Evolve, said in a statement. “Our CleanBeta series of ETFs deliver commonly used traditional [indexes] and strives to offset the carbon emissions from these companies, in order to deliver a clean beta solution.”
The S&P/TSX 60 ETF will be available in unhedged Canadian-dollar units. The S&P 500 ETF will be available in hedged and unhedged Canadian-dollar units, as well as unhedged U.S.-dollar units.