[April 27, 2011]

Aperio Group Introduces the First Animal Rights Portfolio Designed to Track the Broad US Equity Market

Aperio Group LLC, a financial advisory firm that manages customized portfolios for values-based investors, has announced the introduction of the Humane Equity Index Portfolio. The Humane Equity Index Portfolio, A Socially Responsive Indexing (SRI) Portfolio, seeks to match the performance of the broad equity market while excluding companies whose business practices the Best Friends Animal Society, one of the leaders in the humane treatment of animals, considers inhumane.

The Humane Equity Index portfolio excludes companies known to have inhumane practices; operate factory farms; conduct non-required animal testing of non-pharmaceutical products; engage in raising, trapping, or slaughtering animals for their fur; are engaged in the animal entertainment industry and are known to engage in inhumane practices; conduct animal testing of pharmaceuticals unles they provide products and/or services in support of animal welfare; and have greater than 50% of their revenue derived from the retail sale of products whose origin, production, or processing is considered inhumane to animals.

Aperio integrates classic portfolio optimization techniques with socially responsible investing (SRI) agendas like the Best Friends' criteria for engineering more "efficient" socially screened, indexed investment portfolios. The Humane Equity Index is designed to track the broad equity market and forecasted to have a tracking error of less than 1%.

"The new Humane Equity Index Portfolio will now allow investors concerned with the welfare of animals to invest in the U.S. equity market without sacrificing their values or returns, and to avoid paying excessive fees," said Patrick Geddes, Aperio's CIO.

Geddes adds that "while many people in the SRI (News - Alert) space still seek to beat the market, we believe most investors will be happy getting U.S. equity returns as long as they can avoid supporting companies that conflict with their values and sense of decency.

Aperio Group LLC based in Sausalito, California, is a pioneer in applying enhanced indexing techniques to socially responsive portfolios. Aperio works with both taxable and tax-exempt investors, providing customized portfolios that track a broad range of U.S. and international indexes. The firm's unique optimization approach utilizes cutting edge multi-factor risk models to design portfolios that incorporate investor values without penalizing expected returns. Aperio also employs a sophisticated tax-loss harvesting program to help taxable investors maximize after-tax returns. Aperio can design portfolios to track either customized or market benchmarks, including the Standard & Poor's 500, Russell 3000, MSCI EAFE, and MSCI ACWI. Aperio, which means "to make clear, to reveal the truth," in Latin, was co-founded by Patrick Geddes, formerly Chief Financial Officer and director of quantitative research at Chicago-based Morningstar. Assets under management at the firm are $2.1 billion.

Best Friends Animal Society runs the nation's largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals. Best Friends is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. For more information on Best Friends please contact John Fripp at 435-644-2001 or email [email protected].

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