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This set the tone for the firm’s drive to identify asset classes and trend-including gold investing in 1968, emerging markets in 1993, and exchange traded funds in 2006- that subsequently shaped the investment management industry. We were one of the first U.S asset managers to offer investors access to international markets. VanEck has a history of looking beyond the financial markets to identify trends that are likely to create impactful investment opportunities. SMOG is part an ETF family that also includes the VanEck Vectors ® Green Bond ETF (GRNB), the first ETF to focus on “green” bonds, which refers to those bonds issued to finance projects that have a positive impact on the environment. In our ETF family, we have sought to develop certain funds with sustainability-related themes or approaches that employ sustainable screening criteria and/or indices, and the changes we’re making with regard to SMOG are being done with all of that thinking in mind.”
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“We consider ESG factors, where possible, in both our active fixed income and ETF strategies. ‘ESG’ responsibilities and we apply this approach, as appropriate, across asset classes, regions and markets,” he continued. “Our approach to responsible investment incorporates environmental, social, and governance, i.e. Lopez noted that VanEck has been a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since March 2017. The index will continue to focus on companies involved in the production of power through environmentally friendly, non-traditional sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and bio-fuels as well as the related technologies used to support the production of this power and increase efficiencies in its production, transportation and storage. The Fund’s index, the Ardour Global Index Extra Liquid, will remain unchanged. “As this Fund was already investing at least 80% of its total assets in stocks of low carbon energy companies, we wanted to make this change to better align the fund’s branding with its mission and the exposure it provides,” added Lopez. To that end, as of July 9, 2019, the Fund GEX will become the VanEck Vectors ® Low Carbon Energy ETFand will have a new ticker: SMOG. “What used to be referred to as ‘alternative energy’ is now more commonly referred to as ‘green,’ ‘clean’ or ‘renewable,’ and numerous large public companies in the energy space have acquiesced to investor demands to set more stringent, low carbon, emission standards.” “As climate change and its potential solutions have become more present in our global discourse, the language used by those within the energy sector, as well as those investing in it, has changed and evolved,” said Ed Lopez, Head of ETF Product at VanEck. NEW YORK-( BUSINESS WIRE)- VanEck today announced a change to its ETF lineup related to some key developments in the ways in which investors are driving change in the energy space and seeking out opportunities to invest in stocks of low carbon energy companies.