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There is an easy way to do this, if you're so inclined. The S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF is basically a drop-in replacement for other ETFs that track the S&P 50
by jawns 6y ago
There is an easy way to do this, if you're so inclined.
The S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF is basically a drop-in replacement for other ETFs that track the S&P 500. I started buying it a few months ago.
https://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/cath/ https://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/cath/
Note that this ETF does not exclude oil companies like Exxon but does exclude companies that manufacture weapons or engage in other problematic activities.
Yes, there will of course be trade-offs between an ETF like VOO or SPY that has a much larger presence in the market. But for some people, they're willing to make that trade-off to divest from holdings they consider problematic.
* Note: If you look at the top 10 holdings in CATH, you'll see there are a bunch of tech companies, and they are certainly not above reproof, in terms of their ethics. But I think many socially conscious investors see a values-based fund or ETF, even if imperfect, as better than nothing.
- dcolkitt 6y agoYeah, except that ETF charges literally a ten times higher management fee than Vanguard. If the Vatican really cared, it would provide its own index and low-cost funds in a non-profit vehicle. The Vatican already has a huge asset management operation, so they can't possibly claim that this they don't have the capabilities.
- eigenvalue 6y agoYes, you would literally be better off buying the Vanguard fund and then just individually shorting out the companies you don't like in the appropriate ratio!
- gweinberg 6y agoEven if it's the same from an investment standpoint I don't think most people would consider it morally the same. Sorting a stock is essentially betting its value will go down. If you don't really believe it will go down, shorting a stock is just creating a profit opportunity for someone taking a long position. Right?
- elcomet 6y ago> creating a profit opportunity for someone taking a long position. But this person is actually also you. You just bought and sold the same asset.
- scarmig 6y agoI wonder, is shorting an unethical stock morally equivalent to (or even morally preferable to) not interacting with it at all? What about options--long positions bad, short positions good? Can I go long on one morally monstrous company, if I ethically hedge by shorting another? Now I want a fund comprised entirely of ethically evil companies. Not sure what I'd do with it, but it seems useful.
- KerrickStaley 6y agoOffering novel financial products is a much more complex business than simply managing assets. I don't think it would be a natural extension of the work the Vatican already does. Good point about the expense ratio, though.
- WealthVsSurvive 6y agoLooks like they'll have to sell, if they want to keep the name.
- celticninja 6y ago>and they are certainly not above reproof, in terms of their ethics. Well neither are the catholic church either so they seem to be a good fit.
- schoen 6y agoI've asked this at least once before on HN but... ... anytime I hear about values-based investing, I wonder about whether there's a way to customize the particular values and beliefs that an investment fund prioritizes or worries about! It seems like the existence of the Catholic ETF that you mentioned is a sign that people are gradually expanding the scope of values-based investing, but I wonder if anyone would offer more explicitly fine-grained products.
- tlb 6y agoYou can, of course, pick individual stocks for the ultimate in fine granularity. Is the desire for a fund driven by saving time doing your own research, or something else?
- schoen 6y agoYeah, I guess the idea that "the market" is still a more desirable investment than "a portfolio" but that it might be hard to assess or hard to keep up with who is doing well or poorly on certain criteria. But those criteria might also not be as widely shared as something like leftism, environmentalism, or Catholicism (and people might also broadly support leftism, environmentalism, or Catholicism, while dissenting from some particular parts of their mainstreams).
- toast0 6y agoI may be a bit optimistic, but the moves to zero comissions and fractional share ownership should make it possible to do this kind of thing independently. Although, managing 500 stocks would be a giant pain, maybe a future wave of brokerage improvements will help with that?