In an exciting first for the stock market, investors can now buy into Wall Street’s first-ever LGBTQ-focused ETF: the LGBTQ100 ESG ETF.
We’ve got ESG ETFs related to the environment, deforestation, gender equality, and so much more.
And now, for the first time ever, we’ve got an LGBTQ-focused ETF, and it has some big players in its fund!
What is ESG investing?
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds are a result of the growing number of investors who wish to place billions of dollars into socially responsible firms. These portfolios select stocks based on a company’s ESG practices, along with more traditional financial measures.
The newly-formed LGBTQ100 ESG Index (INDEXNYSEGIS: LGBTQ100) is the first of its kind and draws from a field of 500 publicly traded large-cap corporations that have a strong ESG profile, and that meet standards for supporting both gender equality and sexual orientation equality. In addition, these 500 companies must also demonstrate loyalty and brand awareness among the U.S. LGBTQ+ community. The index also screens out companies in certain sectors including guns, tobacco, gambling, pornography, and weapons of mass destruction.
The manager behind the index, Bob Tull, explained the ETF’s unique screening process in an interview last week, which highlighted how they don’t just use traditional quantitative analytics:
“The structure started out with over a thousand securities and then the first thing we did was screen them for inclusion and ESG using the UN standards. The members of the community are very loyal and so there’s a sentiment component to this index.”
Included in this index are companies such as Estee Lauder, Facebook, Starbucks, PayPal, Visa, and much more, many of which pay out generous dividends and represent solid investment opportunities.
ESG investing is becoming increasingly popular, as evidenced by the belief that ESG assets could hit $53 trillion by 2025. As the first ETF solely focused on the LGBTQ+ community, this is definitely one to watch.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently holds long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.