UBS introduces InsightShares LGBT Employment Equality ETF

Jan 12th, 2018 | By | Category: Equities

UBS Investment Bank has announced the launch the InsightShares LGBT Employment Equality ETF (PRID US) on NYSE Arca, providing exposure to US-listed companies with employment policies that promote LGBT equality.

UBS InsightShares ETF LGBT

The fund provides exposure to US firms that score highly in LGBT employment policy inclusiveness.

The fund tracks a proprietary UBS index – the UBS LGBT Employment Equality Index – and harnesses data from LGBT civil rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to select firms with the most inclusive LGBT employment policies.

The index is constructed around HRC’s Corporate Equality Index which ranks all US firms based on their LGBT workplace inclusion relative to their peers by evaluating relevant publicly available information such as employment contracts, donations, lawsuits, discrimination allegations, workplace education, and equitable benefits offerings.

Those US firms with a Corporate Equality Index score of 85 or above (out of 100) are selected for inclusion and weighted by market capitalization.

“InsightShares creates an incredible opportunity for investors to align their portfolios with their philanthropic values,” said Richard Cea, executive director of exchange-traded products at UBS. “We’re thrilled to support socially conscious strategies, and look forward to increasing our impact by donating a portion of the revenues generated by this ETF to charities through the UBS Optimus Foundation.”

There are approximately 270 firms in the resultant index which, due to the large number of S&P 500 constituents, has relatively similar exposure to the US bellwether index. The sector breakdown for PRID (compared to the S&P 500) is as follows: technology – 28% (vs 24%); financials – 15% (vs 15%); consumer cyclical – 15% (vs 12%); healthcare – 13% (vs 14%); and industrials – 10% (vs 11%).

PRID has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.65% which is relatively high, especially when compared to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV US) which costs just 0.04%.

PRID is created and offered by US white-label ETF provider Exchange Traded Concepts, and is the first fund issued under the “InsightShares” brand – a series of thematic ETFs focused on promoting values-based causes.

The second InsightShares-branded ETF is being lined up for imminent launch; the  InsightShares Patriotic Employers ETF (HONR US) will invest in US companies offering robust employment opportunities for the country’s veterans of the armed forces.

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