The NACP ETF is marketed as a fund that only invests in companies with strong racial and ethnic diversity policies, empowering employees regardless of their race or nationality. Based on what we have found, however, a closer look at the fund’s holdings demonstrate that some of the companies in the fund do not actually support the NAACP’s mission.
WHAT IS THE NACP ETF?
The NACP ETF was launched in 2018 and tracks the Morningstar Minority Empowerment Index. The NACP ETF seeks to provide exposure to U.S. companies with strong racial and ethnic diversity policies in place. The fund currently has over $33 million in assets under management.
HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE NAACP?
The NACP ETF is owned by the nonprofit organization Impact Shares, so all net advisory profits are donated as a management fee directly to the NAACP organization. Founded in 1909, the NAACP civil rights organization is known for its advocacy for racial equality, human rights and for its effort to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for all people. Throughout its history, the organization has been at the forefront of the fight for civil rights and has played a key role in many of the most significant events and movements in American History.
IS THE NACP ETF AS GOOD AS IT SAYS?
The NACP ETF claims to support minority empowerment, yet its holdings include companies that donate in significant amounts to Republican politicians and political action committees who are actively working to undermine the NAACP’s mission.
For example, the NACP ETF includes Devon Energy ($DVN), and the top politician that Devon Energy has funded over the last three election cycles is Representative Markwayne Mullin. Incredibly, Mullin did not support and stayed silent during the voting on the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in 2020, which would have made lynching a federal hate crime. Since then, the Anti-Lynching Act has been officially passed. However, supporting a company that donates to a politician who does not even care to vote for such an act is in stark contrast to the NACP ETFs marketing narrative and raises questions about the fund’s commitment to its stated goals of supporting minority empowerment and equality.
That’s not all. The NACP ETF also includes Exxon Mobil ($XOM) in its top ten holdings, which is one of the top funders of the GOP and is a company with a terrible track record of harming minority populations with its environmental pollution.
The bottom line is that it is important to dig into the details of thematic ETFs — which are not heavily regulated — to ensure that the ETF’s holdings actually mirror its stated intent. One important tool for this analysis is the Goods Unite Us app, which provides accurate and easily digestible information about the political spending behind publicly traded companies. You can download the free Goods Unite Us app here.