By Emily Ulrich
I've previously written about the convergence of typical "strategy" or "factor" indices with sustainable indices. In 2016, we saw this rise as a trending topic in the market, and we expect the interest to increase in 2017. This multifaceted approach has been well illustrated in many aspects of our offerings, but I wanted to focus on the S&P Global 1200 Climate Change Low Volatility High Dividend Index this week.
This index series exemplifies this combination approach well, as it incorporates popular strategy methods and sustainable practices through filtering out companies with relatively higher carbon footprints, lower dividend yields, and higher volatility.
One unique aspect of this index is that it utilizes a "carbon normalized score," which is a product of the carbon footprint (the company's annual greenhouse gas emissions as carbon dioxide equivalent/annual revenues).
To compare this approach to another standard index, the S&P Global 1200 Carbon…