Charitable organizations the Columbia Foundation, the Endswell Foundation and the VanCity Community Foundation are among the first investors in Real Assets’ newly established family of socially responsible index pooled funds.

The new funds include the Real Assets Canadian Social Equity Fund, the Real Assets U.S. Social Equity Fund and the Real Assets Social Bond Fund.

The index pooled funds are based on the Real Assets’ Canadian and U.S. Social indices. Real Assets used independent researchers to evaluate the companies in the TSE 300 and the S&P 500 to create social indices reflecting Canadians’ commitment to human rights, employee health and safety, environmental protection, social justice and strong sustainable communities at home and abroad.

Canada’s 1,400 charitable foundations and endowments have almost $7.8 billion in assets. “Our clients believe that corporations have a mandate to be responsible global citizens that goes beyond their economic activities,” says Deb Abbey, CEO of Real Assets Investment Management and co-author of “The 50 Best Ethical Stocks for Canadians”.

“As portfolio managers, we engage in meaningful dialogue with the companies we invest in to encourage them to develop policies and practices that are consistent with responsible corporate behaviour as defined by international codes of conduct. We also vote our unit-holders proxies according to socially responsible proxy voting guidelines.”

The Real Assets family of funds has been designed to address the needs of individuals, charitable foundations, pension funds and others seeking lower- cost, socially responsible wealth management that reflects their values or the mission of their organization.

The funds’ sub-advisor is State Street Global Advisors, a world leader in index investment strategies. SSgA has over $18 billion under management in Canada and over $740 billion worldwide.

The funds are now available across Canada, with registration pending in Ontario.