Socially responsible index funds?

[snowboundobgyn]

My wife and I can't be the only ones who are especially anxious to make sure we don't have any gun stocks in our portfolio this week... just cannot stomach having any personal connection to this industry & profiting off it. we are invested in Vanguard & Fidelity index funds and are just looking to change our total stock market funds to similar ones without the gun stocks. I looked around and it looks like Vanguard's VFTAX and Fidelity's FITLX are what we are looking for, can anyone confirm or deny? Obviously if they happen also to not contain tobacco, EtOH, or whatever else people think is equally immoral, that is fine.

[Hank]

So no arms for Ukraine? Isn’t that effectively appeasing and endorsing Mr. Putin’s invasion and attempted genocide and annexation in Ukraine?

[Kamban]

Guns, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, fast food, fossil fuels, etc, etc. There are many social evils. It is difficult to have funds that tease those out and also give good returns.

I ignore all that and just invest in total stock or S & P 500 or 1000. And individually address the issues with charity.

[snowboundobgyn]

Of course iit is not the existence of guns, or the manufacturing of guns, that we are opposed to. That is all fine and good, weapons and war exist, it is a fact of life. It is the relentless efforts of the gun lobby to ensure that no reasonable gun control legislation will ever be passed specifically in this country to prevent the massacre of children at an elementary school. I am only responding because you asked - I did not intend this to be a political thread. I just want to know what funds to invest in. I don't to make money off of these children's deaths, end of story. I am not alone because these funds exist and actually perform just fine.

[ENT Doc]

Of course iit is not the existence of guns, or the manufacturing of guns, that we are opposed to. That is all fine and good, weapons and war exist, it is a fact of life. It is the relentless efforts of the gun lobby to ensure that no reasonable gun control legislation will ever be passed specifically in this country to prevent the massacre of children at an elementary school. I am only responding because you asked - I did not intend this to be a political thread. I just want to know what funds to invest in. I don't to make money off of these children's deaths, end of story. I am not alone because these funds exist and actually perform just fine.

This seems like virtue signaling TBH because everything you seek can easily be googled.

[AR]

This seems like virtue signaling TBH because everything you seek can easily be googled.

That's probably true of about half the OPs on this forum. At the very least.

I guess there is a whole lot of virtue signaling going on.

[Tangler]

Guns, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, fast food, fossil fuels, etc, etc. There are many social evils. It is difficult to have funds that tease those out and also give good returns.

I ignore all that and just invest in total stock or S & P 500 or 1000. And individually address the issues with charity.

Bingo. VTI, then fund whatever floats your boat.

you might be disappointed in what vanguard or whomever chooses to include or exclude.

Better to pick on your own.

I believe that is what WCI also does.

[Tangler]

That's probably true of about half the OPs on this forum. At the very least.

I guess there is a whole lot of virtue signaling going on.

AR, are we in for another 50 post AR rant?

OP I would just do VTI and fund your own charity as Kamban suggests, but I think Vanguard has what you described.

Blackrock has this also, but I would choose vanguard if you chose that path.

[ENT Doc]

That's probably true of about half the OPs on this forum. At the very least.

I guess there is a whole lot of virtue signaling going on.

Not really. It’s not virtue signaling to ask about “how do I fill out this 8606?” when there are dozens of posts and guides addressing this already. That’s just laziness. This, like the humble brag, is meant to signal something or make one feel better.

[AR]

Not really. It’s not virtue signaling to ask about “how do I fill out this 8606?” when there are dozens of posts and guides addressing this already. That’s just laziness. This, like the humble brag, is meant to signal something or make one feel better.

Sure. I mean there is no way this couldn't also be laziness. That's impossible.

[AR]

AR, are we in for another 50 post AR rant?

I don't know. Do you need 50 posts to understand that a whole lot of people post questions that could be easily answered with a bit of effort and research and therefore you can't really draw strong conclusions (as specific as "virtue signaling") from that?

I sure hope not. It should be pretty uncontroversial.

[Dont_know_mind]

I would just invest in cheapest broad index fund and donate to anti-gun lobby, if you want to support them.

[Dusn]

The OPs post is reasonable. If VFTAX is the exact same as VTSAX but without the gun manufacturers then it seems like a reasonable option. I doubt that one industry or a few small industries would really affect returns much.

I also don’t know if it’ll make any difference. Donating would be more effective. And I think going for the highest returns and donating the difference is more impactful in this case.

A related question might be - how much of a downside is there with VFTAX?

[jacoavlu]

The OPs post is reasonable. If VFTAX is the exact same as VTSAX but without the gun manufacturers then it seems like a reasonable option. I doubt that one industry or a few small industries would really affect returns much.

I also don’t know if it’ll make any difference. Donating would be more effective. And I think going for the highest returns and donating the difference is more impactful in this case.

A related question might be - how much of a downside is there with VFTAX?

Product summary

• Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE4Good US Select Index.
• Market cap weighted index composed of large- and mid-capitalization stocks.
• Screened for certain environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria.
• Specifically excludes stocks of certain companies in the following industries: adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, fossil fuels, gambling, and nuclear power.*
• Excludes stocks of certain companies that have violations of labor rights, human rights, anti-corruption, and environmental standards as defined by the U.N. Global Compact principles.*
• Excludes companies that do not meet certain diversity criteria.*
• Employs a passively managed, full-replication approach.

[Tim]

Of course iit is not the existence of guns, or the manufacturing of guns, that we are opposed to. That is all fine and good, weapons and war exist, it is a fact of life. It is the relentless efforts of the gun lobby to ensure that no reasonable gun control legislation will ever be passed specifically in this country to prevent the massacre of children at an elementary school. I am only responding because you asked - I did not intend this to be a political thread. I just want to know what funds to invest in. I don't to make money off of these children's deaths, end of story. I am not alone because these funds exist and actually perform just fine.

Just curious, can you define this: "reasonable gun control legislation"?
Not a challenge intended. Not intended to be political, just I have never found a definition under the top opinions. Either side of the debate.
Most trot out a few statistics and ignore the whole situation.