Socially Responsible ETF Channel

Van Eck files for two new ETFs, including the first indexed Russia fund.

SPDRs Spread Their Web

SSgA has filed for the right to launch 16 new international ETFs, in one of the most important ETF filings in recent history. The new funds will give SSgA a complete lineup of global and regional ETFs, and will position the company to capitalize on the growing interest in international investing. The filings will put significant pressure on BGI, which has had, until this year, a near monopoly on international ETFs.

The funds are shown in the shaded box below.

Interest in socially responsible investing must be increasing because Barclays Global Investors launched its second SRI ETF mid-November. The iShares KLD 400 Social Index (AMEX: DSI) tracks the Domini 400 Social Index (DS 400), which was launched in 1990 and was the first index of its kind in the US.

Seeking to tap into what had been considered the private but is now very public world of private equity? It may appear to be an oxymoron, but an ETF holding 34 US publicly-listed companies with direct investments in more than 1,000 up and coming private businesses is now available. Although the ETF attracted a lot of media attention at its launch, it has not, at least so far, attracted lots of assets.

As Amy Domini rides off into the active management sunset, index investors benefit with more choices and lower fees on the Domini 400.

PowerShares expands its offerings in the environmental space, and debuts the first private equity ETF.