Huntington EcoLogical ETF Launch Includes Interesting Mix of Companies

Huntington Asset Advisors has announced the launch of an actively managed exchange-traded fund via Huntington Strategy Shares called the Huntington EcoLogical Strategy Shares ETF (HECO).  This is the first of two ETFs the firm plans to launch and the fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund and will invest at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of ecologically focused companies.

A list of the stocks has not formally been released but 65% will be U.S.-based and up to 35% can be in ADRs or other instruments.  The fund notes that these ecologically focused companies are positioned “to respond to increased environmental legislation, cultural shifts towards environmentally conscious consumption, and capital investments in environmentally oriented projects.”

We do not know if all of these will be in the ETF or not, but we were given a list of many of the stocks that the portfolio manager invests in under this category.  This list includes companies such as The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), and many others.

Here is a breakdown of some of the component issues:

• Alternative renewable power such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro or biomass;
• Alternative renewable fuel such as biofuel, biomass or hydrogen;
• Alternative engines such as electric, flywheel or micro turbines;
• Energy efficiency such as energy efficient building materials, power, lighting, heating, or fuel;
• Resource conservation/healthier use of resources such as recycling or renewable materials; and
• Healthy lifestyle such as pollution control or organic foods.

JON C. OGG