The world is constantly evolving. Are you ready to play your part?
Canada’s Liberal government presented a gender-balanced cabinet in 2015. In 2016, Tesla added a new "summon" feature that allows cars to self-park at parking locations without the driver in the car. In the last year, American and French federal elections, HBO, and Equifax experienced cyber attacks that exposed sensitive information, shaking the world’s confidence in cyber security.
As the world around us constantly evolves, we took a step back and realized that, in Canada, we haven’t seen significant evolutions in investment opportunities in quite some time. An ETF tracking the TSX 60 continues to be the most actively traded security in Canada, yet it has excited since 1999. We decided it was time to evolve.
We launched Evolve Funds to offer Canadians investment funds that make a difference. Funds that offer Canadians the opportunity to invest in companies key to the topics and issues discussed around the dinner table each night. We are very pleased that with today’s launch of HERS and CYBR ETFs Canadians can now turn discussion into investment.
What are the topics Canadians most care about?
One of the subjects that has long captured our attention is gender equality. In 2015, Canada made headlines around the world when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed a gender-balanced cabinet. But in private boardrooms, a different picture exists. Among the 677 companies listed on the TSX in 2016, women held only 12 per cent of board seats. 45 per cent of companies did not have a single woman serving on their board of directors. There is also the persistent gender pay gap. According to Statistics Canada, women earn $0.87 for every dollar earned by men, largely due to wage inequality within similar occupations.
Despite these troubling stats, we know gender equity is a priority for Canadian investors. According to the 2017 RIA Investor Opinion Survey, 82% of Canadian investors believe women should be better represented on corporate boards, and 73% disapprove of companies with zero or very few women on their boards. When it comes to pay, 76% believe companies should be required to disclose how much they pay women compared to men and 55% would be willing to sell their investment in a company if that company does not pay men and women equal pay for equal work.
Cyber security is another issue that continues to capture headlines. Just this month Equifax revealed the sensitive personal information of up to 143 million Americans had been compromised in a cyber-attack, and recent reports indicate 10,000 Canadians may have also been exposed in this breach. But the problem is far larger than one attack, and the economic impacts of cyber-attacks are significant. In 2016, financial losses from cybercrime in the United States exceeded $1.3 billion. Canada is the second most expensive country for data breaches in the world, with an average total cost of almost $6 million.
These are two examples of big challenges. How can a single investor make a difference? By investing in an Evolve Fund.
The Evolve North American Gender Diversity Index ETF (HERS) is Canada’s first gender-diversity ETF, providing exposure to North American companies that have demonstrated a commitment to gender diversity by tracking the Solactive Equileap North American Gender Equality Index.
The Evolve Cyber Security Index ETF (CYBR) is the first cyber security ETF in Canada, investing in companies focused on software and hardware development to combat cybercrime by tracking the Solactive Global Cyber Security Index.
The world is constantly evolving. Now your portfolio can evolve with it, matching rampant technological and social innovations. The question is, are you ready to change with it?