Jantzi Social Index
In January 2000, Jantzi Research launched the Jantzi Social Index®, partnered with Dow Jones Indexes. The JSI, a socially screened, market capitalization-weighted common stock index modeled on the S&P/TSX 60 consists of 60 Canadian companies that pass a set of broadly based environmental, social, and governance rating criteria. The JSI has begun to generate the first definitive data on the effects of social screening on financial performance in Canada.
In April 2001, Meritas Mutual Funds launched the Social Index® Fund, an RRSP eligible mutual fund that invests in common shares of the 60 companies that comprise the JSI®. The fund's holdings of each company match the sector and industry weights, as well as the relative market capitilizations, of the JSI. Meritas Financial Inc. was incorporated in 1999 as an investment management firm that was designed to focus exclusively on creating and distributing socially responsible investments for individuals and institutional investors. It manages the Meritas Mutual Funds family of socially responsible investments which includes the Meritas Jantzi Social Index Fund. Please see Meritas Mutual Funds for more information.
In May 2007, iShares launched the first Socially responsible Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in Canada, iShares CDN Jantzi Social Index® Fund (XEN). XEN is designed for socially responsible Canadian investors to help attain diversification in their portfolios. iShares™ funds are a member of the world's most extensive family of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), offering over 200 equity and fixed income funds worldwide. In Canada, iShares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, delivering a variety of options for your asset allocation needs. To learn more please visit iShares.
Sustainalytics developed a thorough rating framework for the JSI. For most issue areas, including aboriginal relations; community involvement; corporate governance; employee relations; environment; and human rights, the framework calls for a complete examination of each company's performance record in that area, as well as an evaluation of each company's record in these areas overall.
The JSI also incorporates several exclusionary indicators, which eliminate firms from contention regardless of what their record of performance may be in other areas. The JSI does not include companies that have significant involvement in:
- the production of nuclear power;
- the manufacture of tobacco products;
- weapons-related contracting.
Read this methodology document to find out more about our process.
To learn more about the Jantzi Social Index, please contact us.
Global ESG Leaders Indices
In April 2011, STOXX Limited partnered with Sustainalytics to launch the Global ESG Leaders Index family, an innovative series of ESG (environmental, social, governance) indices which is based on sustainability data provided by Sustainalytics. The index family is informed by standardized data on a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to ESG principles and mapped to the “KPIs for ESG 3.0” standard by DVFA/EFFAS. Based on this data, a transparent, published and rule based methodology is applied to determine individual ratings for each company for the categories of Environmental (E), Social (S) and Governance (G) performance, respectively. The ratings are standardized such that a rating of 50 indicates that the company belongs to the top 50% of companies in the respective category, while a rating of 75 indicates that it belongs to the top 25%. The ratings range from 0 to 100.
To learn more about the Global ESG Leaders Indices, please contact us.
