A fledgling asset manager plans to unveil an exchange-traded fund which avoids companies that commit to quantitative diversity, equity and inclusion measures, with the rollout planned at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Thursday.
“A few dozen companies ... embraced anti-meritocratic hiring practices,” said Fishback, saying those were being excluded.Fishback said he chose that location because he has been a supporter of Trump, whose Republican party backers include many outspoken critics of environmental, social and governance -based investing, whose criteria can include selecting companies that emphasize demographic diversity when hiring.
“Investors may turn further to ESG ETFs because they believe the government will not fully support their personal objectives,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at VettaFi. He declined to comment on the Azoria ETF. According to Morningstar, there are now a total of 223 U.S.-based ETFs with an ESG focus with a total of $110 billion in assets. One of the largest of these funds, the Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF, has posted a gain of 27.45% so far this year compared to 28% for the S&P 500. The group of ESG funds have recorded an average return of 10.7% so far in 2024.