Social Justice ETF to list next Tuesday

Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF

Investment value proposition: Companies that are not nice will not perform well. Investment strategy is focused on excluding companies that do social harm.

This ETF is "actively-managed" but states that it will closely mimic an index. 

Ticker: JSTC

Exchange: NYSE arca

Listing date: December 15, 2020

Expense ratio: 0.89%

CUSIP: 886364876

Index: N/A

Benchmark: Adasina Social Justice Index

Constituents: 891 as of November 30, 2020

Strategy

Closely mimic the composition of the Adasina Social Justice Index*

Benchmark Index methodology

Universe: 9,000 US-traded and non-US-traded stocks excluding REITs. Use ADRs where possible.

Exclude companies based on screens on five criteria:

• Racial
• Gender
• Economic
• Climate
• Movement Aligned

Companies that remain are included in the index, subject to global risk model constraints.

Will invest in at least three different countries.

At least 40% of fund assets will be invested in non-US companies.

Investment advisor is Robasciotti & Philipson, acting as Adasina Social Capital. More info and links here:

Adasina Social Capital

Robasciotti & Philipson

Portfolio managers

• Rachel J. Robasciotti
• Maya Philipson
• Michael Venuto
• Charles A. Ragauss

Prospectus is here.

Twitter : @ETFhearsay

*Adasina Social Justice Index

The Index is composed of equity securities of companies that possess characteristics that Adasina believes meet the investment criteria for investors concerned with social justice. The Index universe begins with approximately 9,000 publicly-traded U.S. and non-U.S. securities, excluding real estate investment trust (“REIT”) securities. Non-U.S. companies will be U.S. exchange-traded American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), if available, provided their liquidity is comparable to locally traded shares. Companies are screened for exclusion from the Index based on Adasina’s social justice investment criteria. To determine these criteria, Adasina works closely with social justice organizations to build data sets that represent the issues most directly affecting their communities and uses this community-sourced data to establish the standards regarding social justice characteristics considered in the Index. The characteristics that the Index considers fall into the following criteria:

Racial
The Racial Justice criteria aim to uproot systems that reinforce, perpetuate, and exacerbate racial inequities. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines participate in, or benefit from, those unjust systems. This includes companies that Adasina has determined: are involved in the ownership, operation, management, and service of prisons and immigrant detention centers; provide or facilitate money bail services; participate in citizen and immigrant surveillance; operate for-profit colleges; are involved in state violence and human rights violations as a result of military occupations; fail to support indigenous peoples’ rights; or do not implement diversity policies or programs to increase workforce diversity.

Gender
The Gender Justice criteria aim to ensure safe and fair opportunities for all people, regardless of their gender identity. The Index seeks to exclude companies with policies and practices that Adasina determines do not support gender equity or LGBTQ+ equality. This includes companies that support restricting reproductive rights, maintain policies that enable serial sexual harassment, fail to offer equal and fair employment opportunities to women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, or lack sufficient gender representation in leadership.

Economic
The Economic Justice criteria aim to create a fair and equitable financial future for all people and communities. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines fail to deal fairly with the public or their employees. This includes companies that pay sub-minimum wages to employees or excessive executive wages, fail to ensure the elimination of forced labor and child labor in their supply chains, maintain poor working conditions, or provide predatory financial products and services.

Climate
The Climate Justice criteria aim to advance the goals of environmental sustainability in partnership with social justice movements. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines significantly contribute to climate change, lack environmentally sustainable practices, or negatively impact air and water quality. This includes companies that: are involved in fossil fuel production, refining, and extraction; fund the fossil fuel industry; engage in the most harmful aspects of extractive agriculture; engage in excessive energy usage; significantly contribute to deforestation; fail to effectively manage carbon emissions; engage in mining; fail to effectively manage waste; or generate significant air pollution or other environmental hazards, which Adasina has determined disproportionately impact poor communities and people of color.

Movement Aligned
The Movement Aligned criteria take direction from a variety of causes that advance social equity and the welfare of people and the planet. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina has determined negatively impact animal welfare and human safety, as well as companies that lack adequate corporate accountability. This includes companies that Adasina has determined: have poor animal welfare practices; produce or sell fur and leather products; engage in non-medical animal testing; produce, distribute, or derive substantial revenue from tobacco products; provide significant financial support to socially conservative institutions; fail to maintain adequate protections for customer data and security; have poor accounting, management, or other corporate governance practices; or produce products with a substantially negative social impact, including the manufacture or sale of weapons or firearms.