New ESG Fund Planned

InsightShares, which previously filed for a pair of socially responsible ETFs targeting companies that support the military veteran and LGBT communities, has put another socially responsible fund into registration. The InsightShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF will target companies that are signatories of the UN Global Compact.

Such companies have signed a document stating they will support the UN’s goals in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and fighting corruption through their operations and strategies. The compact currently includes more than 12,000 companies and nonbusiness organizations.

Companies in the fund’s underlying index, which is calculated by Solactive, must be publicly listed—currently about 8,000 companies—and have at least $500 million in free-float market capitalization, in addition to meeting liquidity requirements and positive earnings results once averaged over the prior three reporting periods, according to the prospectus.

From there, eligible components are sorted into sectors and regions, and then scored on how well they manage the environmental, social and governance risks associated with their industry relative to their regional peers.

The 100 top-scoring companies are selected for inclusion with the index, with sector and regional weightings optimized to reflect that of Solactive’s broader, cap-weighted global benchmark, the prospectus said.

The index is rebalanced annually.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]