BGI introduces socially responsible ETFs

Barclays Global Investors rolled out an exchange-traded fund based on socially responsible principles, said spokesman Lance Berg, adding the fund will be particularly attractive to foundations and endowments. The iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund, which tracks the KLD Select Social index, invests in domestic companies representing every industry with favorable social and environmental traits; it excludes tobacco. The approach addresses one of the main barriers in socially responsible investing: institutional investors' reluctance to adopt SRI strategies because of concerns about limiting market diversification, according to BGI. The new ETF began trading Jan. 28 on the New York Stock Exchange.