Save Darfur, Win Big

Earlier this year, Fidelity Investments' (symbol Quote)Contrafund dumped 91% of its stake in PetroChina. The company claims the divestment campaign had nothing to do with the sale, however.

Warren Buffett has also taken some heat over Berkshire Hathaway's(BRK Quote) stake in PetroChina, althogh he is standing firm for now.

Socially responsible investing in general is becoming more mainstream. Over the past 10 years, assets in bond and equity funds that use some social or environmental criteria to screen issuers have surged 828% to $40.1 billion from $4.8 billion. By comparison, total assets in mutual funds of all kinds have risen 260% to $10.9 trillion.

The Sudan Free Large-Cap Core ETF isn't the first socially responsible ETF. Two others, the iShares KLD 400 Social Index Fund (DSI Quote) and the iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund (KLD Quote), have been launched over the past two years. But neither screens out companies that do business in Sudan.

There are also a number of socially responsible mutual funds sponsored by companies such as Calvert and Domini that avoid investing in companies providing direct or indirect benefits to the Sudanese government.

The Sudan Free ETF doesn't just avoid PetroChina and China Petroleum, however. Its benchmark, the KLD Large-Cap Sudan Free SocialSM Index, screens out companies in the Russell 1000 involved in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling and firearms industry as well as companies that own property or other assets in Sudan, obtain goods or services in the African nation or purchase commercial paper issued by its government.