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FTSE4Good
Final details including criteria and constituents for FTSE4Good, the new index series for socially responsible investors, were revealed today. A greater percentage of UK companies qualify for inclusion in FTSE4Good than companies from any other country, reflecting the high standards of corporate social responsibility (CSR) adopted by UK business. The index series, which aims to raise $US one million for UNICEF in its first twelve months, will go live on July 31.
FTSE4Good provides a tool for investors to track the performance of CSR companies in the UK, European, US and Global markets against a comparable benchmark in a transparent and objective way. The FTSE4Good UK 50 index, a tradable index containing the largest 50 stocks by market capitalisation, has outperformed the FTSE 100 by 15% over the last 5 years.
A full list of qualifying companies for all FTSE4Good indices can be found by clicking here. Companies, which do not qualify for the index today, can appeal to the Committee before August 10 and will be considered for inclusion following the first review in September.
Mark Makepeace, FTSE Chief Executive said "The creation of FTSE4Good means that socially responsible investment (SRI) has now moved into the mainstream. Increasingly, individuals and their pension funds seek to invest in socially responsible companies. FTSE4Good meets that demand and provides an independent measure for the SRI community."
Commenting on the FTSE4Good index series, Peter Webster, Executive Director of EIRIS said: "The launch of the FTSE4Good indices is a sure sign of the growth of interest in social and environmental performance as a part of investment decision-making, not least because fund managers and analysts are becoming aware of potential links between such factors and financial performance."
Close Fund Management also launch the first fund on the FTSE4Good indices today. Marc Gordon, Managing Director of Close Fund Management, said: "FTSE4Good brings clarity and structure to socially responsible investment for the first time. This Fund is all about making socially responsible investment mainstream, tracking the companies who are most likely to benefit financially from adopting good practice."
