How Oil, Coal and Wal-Mart Became Part of ‘Socially Responsible’ ETFs

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

State Street Corp. (STT) launched its SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Free ETF with much fanfare in December 2015, its debut timed to coincide with the Paris climate talks and its credibility burnished by support from the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the most prominent environmental lobbying groups in the U.S.

Despite the ETF’s name, it owned stakes in, for example, Transocean Ltd. (RIG), the offshore-drilling company implicated in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; Southern Co. (SO), a utility that relies on coal and natural gas for 80% of its generating capacity; and Valero Energy Corp. (VLO), a major gasoline refiner.

Source: Fox Business (link opens in a new window)

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Energy, Investing