Reddit Posts
Now is the perfect time to get out of big oil and coal. Sell VTI, but ESGV.
It is time to divest from Facebook
It is time to divest from Facebook.
It is time to divest from Facebook.
Proposed Portfolio (BlackRock) vs Building/Managing my own (Vanguard)
Mentions
I'm happy with my mix of ESGV (US total market) and VSGX (International) which are both run off the the same filters/index
I have tge same approach as you, I try to invest ethically, even though it’s not a perfect system, I do try to avoid things that do not align with my values. Have you looked at ESGV? It’s a Vanguard ETF that does well. I have several different ETFs but ESGV is the main one I regularly buy shares of. Beyond that, about 40% of my portfolio is individual stocks. I try to avoid companies that are heavy polluters, defense industry stuff, etc. The companies I am invested in are mostly sustainable energy, tech, and retail. Not a perfect system at all but I am comfortable with it.
Yeah, those are good options if you’re just starting out. ESGV’s probably the most balanced of the bunch, decent diversification without diving into super niche themes that can get volatile fast.
I wouldn’t touch them…. But you asked: Vanguard ESG ETF (ESGV): Excludes companies involved in controversial weapons, civilian firearms, nuclear power, fossil fuels, and tobacco. iShares ESG Aware ETFs (e.g., EAOK): Incorporate ESG metrics into a broadly diversified portfolio. Thematic ESG ETFs: Focus on specific areas like clean energy, gender equality, or sustainable water.
Ethics is pretty subjective and it'll make investing pretty difficult and not very worthwhile. Check out ESGU, ESGV, ICLN, and TAN and see if they may fit what you're looking for.
I’ve got some $ in VOO, but I prefer ESGV, that’s my go to ETF. I don’t want to sell OKLO now, I’m more trying to think about the future- if it keeps going up, when do I call it and start selling.
There absolutely are, though you may have to look around some. There's plenty of information on ESG Investing, and various funds out there, like ESGV, XVV, or EFIV and others such that make some attempts at ESG investing [https://global.morningstar.com/en-gb/sustainable-investing/how-to-exclude-weapons-from-your-portfolio](https://global.morningstar.com/en-gb/sustainable-investing/how-to-exclude-weapons-from-your-portfolio) [https://weaponfreefunds.org/](https://weaponfreefunds.org/) [https://etfdb.com/esg-investing/social-issues/weapons-involvement/](https://etfdb.com/esg-investing/social-issues/weapons-involvement/) [https://fossilfreefunds.org/blog/2025/05/22/bankrolling-bombs-how-your-401k-funds-war-machine-what-you-can-do-about-it.html](https://fossilfreefunds.org/blog/2025/05/22/bankrolling-bombs-how-your-401k-funds-war-machine-what-you-can-do-about-it.html) [https://fossilfreefunds.org/fund/spdr-sp-500-esg-etf/EFIV/investment-profile/FS0000G0NA/F0000156AN](https://fossilfreefunds.org/fund/spdr-sp-500-esg-etf/EFIV/investment-profile/FS0000G0NA/F0000156AN)
> can’t see it beating a Chinese/Indian .. AI/robotics No one knows for certain though India is likely prime for “growth”. Also consider that the U.S. has 62% to 66% of global market cap despite only 4% of the global population (80% if talking about the “‘mega-caps”). Market standards and the American worker kowtowing to Milton Friedman style capitalism [perhaps not that willingly but anyways..] do matter. One idea may be a “global” portfolio or even fund/ETF. Vanguard’s all-cap VT or for just large/mid caps .. iShares ACWI for a pure market cap play. There’s also dividing up VTI (US) and VSUX(non-US) …or ITOT and IXUS for iShares. Another interesting twist would be Vanguard’s new environmental/social all-cap funds .. ESGV (US) and VSGX (non-US); “feel good” stuff especially if there’s an eco-disaster in the future, .. plus DFA research noted some sectors, like emerging small cap value, have large stocks that just sit there; a firm going after environmental certifications the company may be more proactive in all aspects imho.
I mean if I compare the perf of VOO or ESGV over the last 10 years, the performance is overall the same. It doesn't seems to hurt and is an easy arbitration to do. Personally I don't care, but [there.no](http://there.no) excuse to not do it if that's important to you. as it's easy and cost you basically nothing and less than taking an electric car or than having solar panels.
Check out ESG investing. There are a growing number of ETFs that invest broadly in the market while specifically excluding certain industries - weapons are a common exclusion. Vanguard's ESGV and iShare's XVV are examples. Anyway - you're starting at a great age just get it rolling!
Well, I personally want to avoid fossil fuel companies, which I believe both VT and VTI have. So might I consider ESGV or EFAX?
Ignore people hating on your question. You can make money while investing more ethically. VOTE is an option. It is similar to VOO in that it seeks to track to SP500. It doesn’t exclude any companies but seeks to transform companies practices through board-level advocacy. ESGV is a whole US market fund so similar to VTI but screening for poor ESG performers. VSGX is a similar thing for the International Markets excluding US (VXUS).
Same lmao ESGV etf is beating anything else I've bought by a mile
Don't have any, aside from what's in ESGV. Don't like the company. That said, I'm not sure it's going to come tumbling down in the manner you suggest, unless you have a more thorough analysis you'd like to share.
This is an update of my last post from earlier this year. I’ve been researching various companies from around the world for the past 3 years and I feel that I’ve found a good group of companies. I don't have any desire to add any new companies, as 13-14 companies is the most I feel I’m able to keep up with. (The only other company I would even consider adding is Commercial International Bank of Egypt, but the Egyptian Pound is terrible.) |Company|Country|Mcap|% Port| |:-|:-|:-|:-| |ESGV|USA||13.77%| |G-7 Holdings|Japan|$500.8M|10.85%| |Clínica Baviera|Spain|$605M|9.64%| |Jerónimo Martins|Portugal|$11.35B|7.86%| |JP-Holdings|Japan|$420.66M|6.86%| |Eiffage|France|$9.43B|6.51%| |Texaf|Belgium/DRC|$140M|6.42%| |MÁDARA Cosmetics|Latvia|$47.37M|6.21%| |cotta Co Ltd|Japan|$25M|5.70%| |Corticeira Amorim|Portugal|$1.25B|5.74%| |Daniel Thwaites|UK|$66.9M|5.61%| |Van de Velde|Belgium|$426.42M|5.53%| |Bank of Greenland|Greenland|$172.56M|4.60%| |Metlen Energy|Greece|$4.53B|4.58%|
I'm grateful for any feedback on my investments... I'm 50 years old and would like to retire around age 65 if possible. I work as a psychologist in private practice so I could likely keep working part time into my late 60s or 70s, but having enough to fully retire in my mid 60s would be optimal. I didn't start investing until I was 40 (living as a grad student/bohemian during my 20s and 30s), so I realize I'm pretty behind, but I've been trying to throw money at my accounts whenever possible. I currently rent and have no debt. Also no kids to put through college, and my parents will most likely need minimal financial help through their final years... hopefully. I might receive some inheritance within the next 10-15 years, though I might not. I'm not counting on it. My romantic partner is financially comfortable but we keep our finances separate so I really am only factoring in my own numbers here. I make decent money right now and am able to throw about 40K per year into my retirement funds and expect to continue to do so as long as I work full time. Here's what I currently have, at Fidelity (**Total = 560K**) **Money Market Fund** (SPAXX): **120K** - this is for an emergency fund, plus money toward a possible downpayment for a house in the next few years... not sure whether to keep renting or to buy... my rent is currently quite cheap **Individual investment account**: **120K** - 50K in VTI (ETF), 40K in ESGV (ETF), 30K in FXAIX (S&P 500 index fund) **Roth IRA and SEP IRA**: **320K** - 230K in FXAIX (S&P 500 index fund), 40K in a bond index fund, 30K in a small cap index fund, 10K in a large cap index fund, 10K in an international index fund As you can see, FXAIX is a big portion of my portfolio (260K). I used to invest in Fidelity's 2040 and 2045 index funds but a financial planner advised me to invest even more in FXAIX, as well as VTI and ESGV ETFs. Am I invested too aggressively and narrowly? What would you do if you were in my position? Am I a fool to believe I could possibly retire or at least scale back my work in 15 years? Am I a fool to rent vs. buy a home, even though my rent is currently quite cheap and I have rent control? ANY thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I've been wondering if I should cut my position in ESGV if Trump wins in November. I don't know his positions on much, but my gut says he won't be pumping money into environmental or social, not on the current levels.
ESGV and VFTAX. Put it all into those and sit back
ESGV and VFTAX . Just put into those and let vanguard choose sensible investments for almost no fees
Take a look at ESGV, VSGX, EAGG. Its performance is [pretty similar](https://testfol.io/?d=eJy1kEFPwzAMhf9K5XMPBQSH3JDYKm6TVlUgNFWmcbuAlww364Sq%2FndcFUThvpxsfc7zex6g5fCKvEHBQwdmgC6ixMpiJDAAKZC3i26mPTKYq0xfCmjfKucbxuiCB9Mgd5RCjd2%2B4XAGk%2F02VSP0oTrPhMKfqiaB2fm2Ojtvp9m7bEzhGCQ2gV1QOy8DeDxMu1fbPCn2QpSsT94mm58hVXG%2Bpy4%2BuN5ZNau%2FopzUgpDmQl%2FT%2Bt%2FW6Op3kll9rmf9UtmRpCYfwdyqlQUut%2FnTEl%2F%2Fxav7PF%2Fim2zcpWAFWz3ANPmdohC0bjoU8kXTlMXjpcLsxi%2B4srvV) to the traditional ETFs often used in the Bogleheads' Three Fund Portfolio. Worth pointing out that the main reason the ESG ETF portfolio has slightly outperformed is because growth stocks have had an incredible run-up recently. Historically, value stocks (often including "sin" stocks) outperform growth stocks over longer time horizons. Combine that with the fact that ESG ETFs are slightly more expensive, and you could reasonably assume that the traditional portfolio will win out in the long-term. Also, if you are not a shareholder in the company, you don't get a vote. A lot of people think it's better to just buy the broad traditional index and use their dollars to try to change the world however they see fit.
You don’t understand, look at the top holdings in ESGV and VFTAX. They are doing great!!!
ESGV and VFTAX If you want to exclude some things based on morals, these are doing great for me
Excluding the sassiness about losing returns, this is the right answer. Institutions are the ones selecting companies to include in their ESG funds. Retail investors don’t really have that much of an impact on their own. Similar to 401k funds… some are great, others are not so great. It all just depends on your level of risk and how much it costs you. Examples of good ones: CSXRX, Vanguard ESGV, iShares ESGU. Example of a shitty fund: NEXTX.
You’re going to recurve some criticism for your interest in divesting in carbon. The investment corner of reddit can be a bit hostile to any investment philosophies it views as heterodox. What you’re describing is an ESG approach and it’s a valid approach if you prefer it. Folks (already in this thread) have suggested that you’re going to have negative results from taking such an approach but a brief look at funds like Calvert’s CSXRX/CVLC, iShares SUSA or Vanguard ESGV will demonstrate that you can achieve perfectly suitable returns with an ESG approach. All three funds take the approach of starting with an index and filtering out bad actors. Talk to a few investment companies about their approach. Do they pick a portfolio of individual stocks? Do they operate from an index? Follow up with questions about how their approach would reflect your values and how removing oil & gas companies could impact returns.
ESGV treating me well this year, outperform DWAC
Stop gambling. Put any extra money in ESGV, it’ll earn more than you will there
go buy an ESG fund and get off WSB. Maybe we all should? My ESGV and VFTAX accounts are doing great and my trading account has a leak in it somewhere
Let vanguard do it. Just put it all into ESGV and leave it there
Since my last post I've decided to decrease my portfolio to under 10 companies, only keeping the ones I've spent the most time researching and following. |Name|Market Cap|Weight|Description| |:-|:-|:-|:-| |ESGV||15.9%|US ETF| |Clínica Baviera (CBAV)|$421.7M|10.1%|Spanish eye clinic operator (largest in Europe)| |Mytilineos (MYH)|$5.19B|10.0%|Vertically integrated Greek utility & aluminum producer (largest in Europe)| |Jerónimo Martins (JMT)|$15.5B|9.9%|Vertically integrated Portuguese grocery co (largest in Portugal & Poland)| |cottaLTD (3359)|$33.76M|9.7%|Japanese baking materials co| |Corticeira Amorim (COR)|$1.43B|9.6%|Largest cork company in the world, with massive moat.| |Van de Velde (VAN)|$460.74M|9.3%|Belgian lingerie company| |Bank of Greenland (GRLA)|$175.6M|9.2%|Largest bank in Greenland.| |Eiffage (FGR)|$10.5B|9.1%|French infrastructure company| |MÁDARA Cosmetics (MDARA)|$55.6M|7.3%|Latvian cosmetics company| Sectors: Materials (19.6%), Cons Staples (18%), Healthcare (12.3%), Financials (11.4%), Cons Dis (11.4%), Industrials (10.2%), Utilities (10%), Tech (5.1%), Comms (1.6%), Real Estate (0.4%), Energy (0%) Cap: Large (31%), Mid (12.7%), Small (56.3%)
Personally, I'm at 70% VTI, 10% VXUS, 5% SGOV, 5% ARKB, 10% individual stocks but I also have some VOO, VT, ESGV included in that 10%. Just remnants that I don't want to sell to create a tax event. Not saying that this is perfect, but it works for me by giving me more exposure to the total US market while still hitting my desired level of international exposure.
Hi all, I am new to investing, and had previously only been using Acorns to do some micro-investing. Recently, I decided that I want to take a more active role in my financial future, and have been trying to learn more about investing (YouTube, colleagues, podcasts, etc.). So far: I have invested 3k into a vanguard target retirement fund (VFIFX). I have also begun invested \~2k into a 3-fund portfolio (VTI, VXUS, BND). I also own some small shares of ESGV, VOTE, ICLN, PSIL, MNMD & CYBN. My question is: is it wise to be investing into these two types of futures? Do they overlap? I have been learning more about the Boglehead approach, but also have heard good things about the Vanguard target funds. I appreciate any and all insight! Thanks!
I agree that your finances would best be served by getting a cheap diverse index fund and minimizing fees. There are ways to do that using ESG funds. They do include higher fees and less diversity but in my opinion they are pretty low and potentially worthwhile for someone who would prefer ESG screening. **VTI** holds 3,757 stocks at an expense ratio of .03% and has a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 15.06% over the past 5 years. **ESGV** holds 1,465 stocks at an expense ratio of .09% and has a CAGR of 16.01% over the past 5 years. They have 82% overlap by weight. **VXUS** holds 8,474 stocks at an expense ratio of .07% and has a 5 year CAGR of 7.39% **VSGX** holds 5,966 stocks at an expense ratio of .12% and has a 5 year CAGR of 6.94% They have a 70% overlap by weight. Sure there are differences in expense ratios and diversification between these funds but they are TINY in comparison to the difference between OP's current holdings and any of these. Here's a paper that Vanguard researchers published a couple of years ago looking at whether or not there is a performance price for ESG funds. [https://eprints.pm-research.com/17511/25030/index.html](https://eprints.pm-research.com/17511/25030/index.html) Key takeaway #1: The majority of environmental, social, and governance equity funds in any of the tested categories do not provide statistically significant positive or negative gross alpha.
lol this sub is probably not the best place to get thoughtful esg feedback but I think you’d be best off trying to find a fund or investing philosophy that you like and then looking into ESG versions of those funds. For example, r/bogleheads loves cheap (low expense ratio) broad index funds or etfs in roughly a market cap ratio. They’re partial to Vanguard for many reasons including the fact that it was founded by their patron saint John Bogle. If you did 60% ESGV and 40% VSGX you would essentially have a “VT and chill” style portfolio without having to worry about receiving dividends from tobacco companies or gun companies that market assault rifles to insecure young men who use them to kill their classmates. There have been studies that show there isn’t much of a performance difference between a broadly diversified esg portfolio and a broad portfolio in general. The real trouble you run into is when you over-invest in certain sectors that may underperform. That’s likely what’s happened with the two funds you currently own. Energy companies have had a strong run the past couple of years because the Russia/Ukraine thing has disrupted a chunk of supply and caused prices to spike. On the other hand, clean energy companies have really struggled as higher interest rates have made it difficult to get financing for capital intensive projects. That’s shown up a bit in esg funds as they tend to screen out fossil fuels. Just buy and hold though, these things tend to be cyclical. Good luck!
Those are both very targeted ESG funds with only 40-45 holdings in each. What do they target specifically? For comparison: Vanguard's ESGV ETF essentially starts with the broad US market and screens out problematic stocks, and was up 30% last year. iShares' SUSA has 185 holdings that show positive ESG characteristics and it was up 24%. NEXTX and NAEFX both have VERY high expense ratios too -- I'd look elsewhere if you want to go ESG...
Yeah, I like the idea of holding less volatile sectors like banks and oil (we could always swing trade them after a strong dip if desired). I do wish there was something like a market cap weighted SP500 without banks and oil, and with a max 4% weighting. I suppose some combo of QQQ, ESGV, and VIG might get close.
Hello! It's great to see your enthusiasm for starting your investment journey, especially with a focus on ETFs and diversification across sectors. Vanguard ETFs are indeed a popular choice for many investors, particularly for their low fees and diverse offerings. Here are some suggestions and tips to help you get started: **Vanguard ETF Options** **1. Technology Sector**: Consider ETFs like Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT), which provides exposure to stocks in the technology sector. It's a way to invest in a broad range of tech companies. **2. Healthcare Sector**: Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) could be a good fit. This ETF offers exposure to companies in the healthcare sector, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biotechnology. **3. Renewable Energy Sector**: While Vanguard doesn't have a specific renewable energy ETF, you can look into broad ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) funds like Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) or Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF (VSGX), which may include companies focused on sustainability and renewable energy. **4. Global Diversification:** To diversify globally, consider Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT), which offers exposure to a wide range of international stocks. **Tips for Beginners** **- Start with Research**: Educate yourself on basic investment principles, understand the ETFs’ objectives, holdings, and the sectors they cover. **- Risk Assessment:** Assess your risk tolerance. ETFs can range from conservative (like bond ETFs) to aggressive (like sector-specific ETFs). **- Long-term Perspective:** As a young investor, you have the advantage of time, which is beneficial for long-term growth strategies. **- Regular Investments:** Consider a strategy like dollar-cost averaging, where you invest a fixed amount regularly, regardless of market conditions. This can be effective in building your portfolio over time. **- Diversification:** While you have interests in specific sectors, ensure your portfolio is diversified to mitigate risks. This means spreading your investments across various sectors and asset classes. **- Stay Informed:** Keep up with financial news and market trends, but avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term market fluctuations. **- Resources for Learning**: Websites like Investopedia, Morningstar, and the Vanguard Blog offer valuable insights. Books such as "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham and "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel can also be great resources. **Remember** \- Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. \- It's wise to consult with a financial advisor to get personalized advice that aligns with your financial goals and risk tolerance. \- Since you're specifically interested in sectors like technology, healthcare, and renewable energy, you might want to allocate portions of your investment to ETFs specializing in these areas, while maintaining a core holding in a broad-market ETF for stability and diversification. Happy investing!
Funds are only weighted by ESG if they're an ESG fund, no? E.g. The ESG rating of VTIs holdings does not effect their weight. That is only true for an ESG fund like ESGV. ESGV has a 188,278 50 day avg volume vs VTI's 3,363,549, so it doesn't appear these funds are all that popular. Rightfully so because investing based on ESG is horrible strategy.
Check out ESGV. It's extremely similar performance to VTi if not slightly better, almost the exact same expense ratio, and is pretty much what you want, not a green investment etf but just a total market minus oil and gas. And according to fossilfreefunds, it is actually pretty clean
Lost $50k and went ESGV on them hoes.
I don't know ifbyou do index fund investing, but ESGV is a the ESG fund of VTI and it gets similar if not slightly better returns than VTI, and as far as I can tell if actually pretty green, other than investing in banks that fund fossil fuels. You can't be perfect but it's still a well diversified broad market fund
​ |Stock|Country|Market Cap|% of Portfolio|Unrlzd Return| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |ESGV|US||49.43%|\+2.77%| |Jerónimo Martins|Portugal|$17.44B|5.56%|\+28.24%| |Ahold Delhaize|Netherlands|$30.86B|5.28%|\+13.04%| |ASMPT|Singapore|$4.28B|5.07%|\+29.59%| |cotta Co ltd|Japan|$44.23M|5.04%|\+82.63%| |Van de Velde|Belgium|$485.67M|4.54%|\+2.27%| |Mytilineos|Greece|$4.80B|4.31%|\+18.41%| |Eiffage|France|$10.58B|4.12%|\+4.15%| |MTN Group|South Africa|$17.47B|4.05%|\+0.37%| |Jardine Matheson|Hong Kong|$15.09B|3.72%|\-3.32%| |Clínica Baviera|Spain|$315.75M|3.57%|\-7.41%| |GrønlandsBANKEN|Greenland|$166.52M|3.41%|\-0.76%| |The Hour Glass|Singapore|$1.02B|1.90%|\-0.29%| ​ Reason for investing: * Ahold: I wanted a stable and strong cons. staples company. They’re the 2nd largest supermarket chain in the world, behind Kroger's. * ASMPT: They are the former sister company of ASML and BESI, and are the market leader in manufacturing semiconductor assembling and packaging equipment (30% market share). I like them because they are a non-hyped semiconductor company that is dominant at what it does. * Clínica Baviera: They are the largest eye care clinic company in Europe. I like them because they have great fundamentals and good future growth; given the likely increase in demand for eye health procedures due to aging populations and increases in myopia. * Cotta Co: Cotta is a materials company that makes and distributes confectionery materials. They operate Japan’s largest e-commerce site for confectionery materials. I like them because they have good fundamentals, good growth (past and future prospects), good management, & are dominant in a niche industry. * Eiffage: I wanted a company that builds and operates infrastructure concessions. * GrønlandsBANKEN: They are a stable company with good fundamentals and overwhelming market dominance. * Hourglass: They sell luxury watches across the APAC region. They give me exposure to APAC’s burgeoning middle and upper classes. * Jardine Matheson: Jardine is a large diversified conglomerate that has monopolies throughout Hong Kong and SE Asia and is involved in all 11 sectors. They give me exposure to emerging markets in China & SE Asia. * Jerónimo Martins: They are a vertically integrated discount retail company. I like them because of good fundamentals and growth potential in emerging markets. * MTN Group: They are the largest telecoms and mobile money operator in Africa. MTN Group is expanding quickly with them rapidly acquiring 4G & 5G contracts, as well as banking licenses across Africa. They give me exposure to the growing markets of Africa, which only have a 45% mobile phone penetration rate and make up 70% of the global mobile money market. * Mytilineos: I wanted a utilities company and exposure to the emerging markets of the MENA. * Van de Velde: They are a premium/luxury lingerie and swimwear company. I wanted a company in the fashion and/or luxury goods industry that has good fundamentals and growth opportunities. They seem to be at a low point in their business cycle and at a good value to buy.
Vanguard has a ESG etf [ESGV] that is nearly parody to VTI, it's expense ratio is 0.09% rather than 0.03% which works out to be 9 dollars in fees for every 10k invested or something rather than 3 dollars every 10k. I'm willing to pay that premium to exclude oil and weapons manufacturers from my portfolio. Vanguards fund is a little different in that it doesn't have those outrageous expense ratios you see on other ESG funds, and I think and hope it will be more popular because of that. From the reading I've done, it seems most people's gripes with esg investing are the high fees associated with it. What are your thoughts on it?
In 20s investing in a Roth IRA. How does this allocation look: 20% VT, 20% VTI, 15% VOO, 10% SCHD, 10% DGRW, 10% JEPI, 7.5% ICLN, 7.5% ESGV
Your half-on-the-right-path with your current thinking: **First** of all, research and decide on an Asset Allocation that you're comfortable with -- how much S&P, how much international, how much bonds, etc. You can go finer than that, too: the "Morningstar Matrix" crosses three values for capitalization against three values of style, giving combinations like Large-Cap-Growth, Mid-Cap-Blend, and Small-Cap-Value. This gives you a *Strategy*. **After** you have a model, **then** you pick specific finds to implement it from the universe available to you. This is *Tactics*. Picking funds before model is picking tactics before strategy. If you don't know where you're going (or WANT to to), picking "How to get there" is pretty meaningless. ----- > ESGV is actually an ETF not a fund. Umm, what do you think the "F" in ETF stands for? Asking "What's the difference between a fund and an ETF" is like asking, "What's the difference between a Car and a Ford". There are three types of **funds**, and one is pretty small: **Mutual** Funds, **Exchange-Traded** Funds, and **Closed-End** Funds. And that tells you NOTHING about how they fit into your Strategy; Funds are just "packages". Then, there are * Index Funds: funds which track an external index, and therefore do not need an Investment Advisor to tell them what to buy and what to sell and when to do it. * Actively Managed Funds: have a research team and a Fund Advisor, who makes buy and sell decisions for themselves. If they want to suddenly unload a holding, they can; if they want to grab a bunch of something up-and-coming, they do so. Now, HERE'S THE THING: * Most (but NOT ALL) ETFs are index trackers -- but there ARE actively managed Exchange-Traded Funds. You should NOT assume that ETF and Index Fund are synonyms and use those terms interchangeably. * Most (but NOT ALL) MFs are actively managed -- but there ARE (many) Index Mutual Funds too.
Hey guys, so my first post here and a bit of a newbie question so apologies if it seems a bit silly. So I have put $3000 aside to put into a Vanguard fund since that's what is most of their funds minimum requirement is. I have tried to look into all the funds they offer and also what others recommend, but I just wanted to ask here for some Reddit advice as well. I've boiled it down to VIFAX, ESGV, or some US + International one which they have several options as well. VIFAX is of course the original and most popular. But the VIFAX tracks the S&P 500; now as an immigrant and someone who travels internationally, I really want to have investments in the international market. I just see how my own home country is developing; villages with no electrically now have running lights, TV's, internet, people that didn't know what computers were now all have smartphones in their hands. So with all this, I'd prefer a fund with international investments in emerging/developing markets. Now lastly ESGV is actually an ETF not a fund, nonetheless its supposed to invest in what they see as ethical companies, which I've always believed, if you don't put your money in what your ethics and values are, then they really don't mean much. But the rate of return for ESGV is actually quite good, so its not just some feel good investment. But this leads to another question from me which is, what is the advantage of a fund over an ETF? Like you have a minimum balance you need to put down plus a fee for the fund, whereas with an ETF it seems much cheaper and more flexible. So what would be an advantage of a fund. Since most of Vanguard's investments have a fund and an ETF version. Thanks
How do we make it better? (Seriously asking.) I bought ESGV instead of VTI because I don’t want to fund fossil fuel. I realize ESG is, at best, imperfect. I would like to invest in ways that promote the goals of ESG but I’m too busy keeping my day job to do much more than select ESG at a slightly higher fee for hopefully improved impact, but I am open to learning more. How do I separate the wheat from the chaff in the world of ESG?
SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE) Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Admiral (VFTAX) iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI) Change Finance U.S. Large Cap Fossil Fuel Free ETF (CHGX) Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV)
Take a look at those you listed. They aren't all the same theme, I'm simply showing you multiple ways you can express your ESG preferences. Some people want heavy on the "E", some want heavy on the "G" (like a gender equity ETF). If you don't want to use ESG, that's fine! But go look at the largest ESG funds and they probably match what you think should if you were into ESG https://www.parnassus.com/parnassus-mutual-funds/core-equity/investor-shares https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/portfolio/ESGV/portfolio-holdings https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239667/ishares-msci-kld-400-social-etf https://cdn.northerntrust.com/pws/nt/documents/funds/intl/factsheets/northern-trust-world-custom-esg-equity-index-fund-srw01-shc-eur-en.pdf https://www.brownadvisory.com/mf/funds/sustainable-growth-fund https://www.calvert.com/Calvert-Equity-Fund-CEYIX.php https://www.putnam.com/individual/mutual-funds/funds/67-sustainable-leaders-fund/A If you think ESG is an entirely solved and binary concept, then your understanding of ESG is wrong. There is no binary formula to decide if a company has good corporate governance. I don't think any ESG provider will tell you their data is perfect and infallible. ESG is qualitative, not quantitative.
$VTI - 2 shares ($456) $ESGV - 2 shares ($162) $VXUS - 6 shares ($362) $ICLN - 1 share (+$1-2) The $ESGV and $ICLN are good for the feels and avoid having idle funds that aren't invested, while taking advantage of low costs.
ESGV is a good multi-sector fund and is, at least to some degree, less supportive of corporations that harm our planet than many other funds mentioned here. I sleep better every night knowing that I try to invest in a sustainable manner. A little impact investing can't hurt.
I transferred $6.5k from an IRA at a credit union to Fidelity and the transfer finally landed this week, so I bought a bunch of ESGV at $78. I'm in my 30s, so I'm stoked that the stock market is on sale right now. In 30 years when I can access the money this slight dip won't matter too much.
Vanguard says, among other things, that ESGV doesn’t include nuclear equities. Small nitpick, but I wish it did. I think nuclear has a solid future.
FINALLY! Yes, you'll probably make more money, but you might make a little less. But you'll definitely be in the ballpark. [Here's the comparison on YAHOO.](https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/ESGV#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)
[Check out this comparison.](https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/ESGV#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) I really should have led with the idea that this would make people more money.
Just took a quick look on yahoo at ESGV vs VTI. ESGV went online in September 2018, right before that last last tantrum. It’s a short comparison, but ESGV actually beats VTI over 1 year and 2 year time frames. Very, very interesting! I had no idea this was even a thing. Thanks for the heads up!
[Check out this comparison.](https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/ESGV#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) Over the last 2 years, ESGV wins. And it's going to keep winning. This is how you can do good doing good.
It does now, but if you're investing for the future (which you should be), you should think about a world without oil, because we're going there quickly. EVs are already cheaper when you factor in total cost of ownership. Wind and solar are cheaper than gas. Over a long time horizon, say 10 years, ESGV is going to beat VTI, and holders will be doing the right thing too.
This is a fair point. I’d like to see the performance of ESGV vs VTI.
This whole human-caused climate change tale is getting tiring. I suggest learning some actual science, not the paid-up version of lies that is fed by MSM and wealthy puppeteers such as WEF and Klaus Schwab. Any warming is not caused by humans and is natural and inevitable over a longer priod. I think this is a pump post for oil companies, honestly, as all this moralizing alone makes one want to do something to opposes it. If going this moral route, I would not invest in ESGV based on this alone, to resist the cabal that is linked to WEF
With a portfolio like this, there's no obvious tilt. Everything cancels itself out. I would recommend just holding VTI (or ESGV), maybe some international, and *maybe* one stock or ETF if you have a really strong conviction about a particular thing.
But it isn't a magic bullet - it isn't necessarily the best because it works. Other things work, too. I'd be more sympathetic to the obsession with VTI if it at least was one of the top 10 best performers of the past decade - but it isn't. The allocations in VTI aren't necessarily ideal - the fact is, VTI is easy. So yes, for a new investor it might be the best choice. Because it is easy, you don't need to do much research, you don't need to worry about how much allocated to countries in each level of development. But, if you're interested in finely tuning a portfolio, it can make sense as a core holding but it isn't necessarily your best choice. VTI works, so does VTV and VUG and ESGV and VSGX and VWO. I personally don't like the weighting in VTI for Emerging Markets which generally outperform developed ones (though not so far in the time of covid). So, yes, VTI is a great etf. But it isn't the only answer, it isn't inherently the best choice. It shouldn't be puritanical, it should be pragmatic.
There's r/greeninvesting Another good resource is crueltyfreeinvesting.org I'm big into SRI but don't feel the need to invest only in SRI themes. ESGV is a good ETF. Otherwise just buy companies you can stomach. I wouldn't ever buy Raytheon or Tyson, for example, but I have no problem owning Visa or Google.
Many people are recommending VTI and VOO, which are great self balancing index funds with low management fees… but consider ESGV which is like VTI but cuts out oil, weapons, and other questionable companies. Still very low management fee and is done by Vanguard. I am also a fan of the asset that shall not be named on r/stocks which has outperformed the stock market since it was invented in 2009. It cannot be frozen or seized the way a bank account or stocks could be, and is valuable and transferable globally.
It’s a pity because I think ESG is going to be much bigger in the future but there is no real definition which SUCKS. You get index funds like Vanguards ESGV which include Amazon, Meta (Facebook), and JP Morgan in their top 10 holdings. None of which I would assume are truly scoring high in any ESG “test”. Anyways good call out OP
Many of the ETFs have the same 10 stocks as the top 10. They just differ in what the weighing is (20%, 25%, 30%, 50%). I just recently got into the following Vanguard ETFs: VIG, ESGV, MGC, and VOT. Just going to dac into them and play the long game. Too frustrating to babysit and watch the manipulation on individual stocks especially when the market is up and your own stocks are down. I like to use the Vanguard site for comparison of funds so that I don't buy the same thing for the most part. Investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/list#/etf/asset-class/month-end-returns
Broad market ETF. Personally prefer ESGV to avoid investing in most socially irresponsible companies.
ESGV. It's basically VTI without the baddies.
*shrug* I buy ESGV as my ETF and avoid evil companies so all good here
When picking individual stocks I’ll seek out companies that have a positive impact on the world. I don’t lose sleep if my positions in VTI or VXUS hold x% of something unethical, it’s not worth risking my financial future. I am thinking of making all future allocations to indexes that are ESG: specially ESGV and VSGX.
Check out ESG ETFs if it’s important to you. Vanguard even has Some decent ones: ESGV VSGX
60% ESGV (ESG version of VTI) 10% VSGX (ESG international) 8% VGT 4% Semi stocks 5% Renewable energy 5% PDBC 8% Something to do with a chain of blocks that shall remain nameless on this sub Not investment advice
I think Betterment is really neat. I tried it just to give it a spin. For many people, especially for taxable accounts, it's probably a great way to go with only .25% management fees. However, I did just pull all of my money out. I just moved everything to Fidelity. At Fidelity, the accounts costs $25/year no matter how much I have in there (plus fund fees of course, but that's the same as Betterment). Asset allocation for taxable 3-5+ year usage range.... VTIP 40% VTI (or ESVG) 50% VSGX (VXUS) 10% For retirement funds that have a 20-40+ withdrawal range (which, pretty cool, it almost matches Betterment's bond/stock ratio they gave me, but with less overall number of investment products)... VTI (or ESGV) 70% VXUS (or VSGX) 15% VTIP 15% Now, I save a few hundred per year by not paying Betterment's management free. I can spend that money on a financial advisor that charges hourly. That makes me feel a lot better than Betterment, where I would be paying .25% and their financial advisors still charge per hour. This isn't to rip Betterment. For many of my friends, I would say it's a great option. For me, Fidelity + a financial advisor fits me.
Downvotes but this shit is taking over. They are calling for a new fed chairman that wants the focus to be on climate change and crap like this. The companies that dance like a monkey for this will do well. I’m in into ESG companies that are playing the game, check out the holdings of VSGX and ESGV, not as crazy as you think
Talking specifically about ESG funds, SUSA, VFTAX, ESGV, or VEIGX. Technically, ICLN could be considered an ESG as well, but that's fairly specific. I'm sure Ark will add their own unique wrinkle to justify it to their investors, and not many funds are as active as her, but I'm not convinced she's worth paying.
I like ESGV as a socially conscious sp500 alternative. It basically tracks spy with slightly better returns.
I'm pretty heavy into ESGV and it's treated me really well. Basically follows VTI (the "environmental sustainability" bit is pretty flimsy, sadly) but the small amount of differences have paid off more often than not.
I got excited about this ESG etf, but then the holdings are just the major players - the FAMGs etc https://etfdb.com/etf/ESGV/#holdings Surprised to see Chase and Visa in there, didn't associate those with ESG
I agree. My main index fund is ESGV and it’s where everything except my emergency/spending funds are going. Why support cigarette companies and fossil fuels if there is an easy alternative equivalent to the major indexes.
For Robinhood, I just went by Reddit suggestions of ETFs at equal weight so ended up being VOO, VTI, VNQ, BND, IEHS, VTWV, ESGV, VYM. It is a lot and probably has overlap and fractional shares cause small amounts of dollar figures for that portfolio. I just wanted broad diversification and dividends. I don't keep track of underlying portfolios or expense ratios since vanguard is so low, to begin with. (may or may not be overexposed in certain sectors, I know stock wise is tech/manufacturing heavy)
Yes, though most of them have already been mentioned here (arms, tobacco, big oil). I'll add, I try to avoid the broad blanket indexes for the same reason (VOO, VTI, VT, SPY, etc.) All those industries I mentioned greatly benefit from everybody "buying the haystack". People argue it's such a small percentage of the index. But multiplied by tens of millions of retirement accounts, there's an enormous amount of money going to these guys (the executives and large shareholders). For this reason, I am a big fan of ESG indexes. ESGV and VSGX to be specific. ESGV has actually outperformed VOO and VTI over time. ESG risk is something all investors should consider.
In theory, ETFs like ESGE, ESGU, ESGV, USXF. Expense ratios on those vary between 0.10% and 0.25%.
Some, but not all, ESG funds exclude fossil fuels. ESGV is an example of one that does, but it does not offer the high dividend yield you're looking for. I don't think you're going to find an ETF which offers both.
This, but ESGV and VSGX (instead of VTI and VXUS) for an ESG investing approach
The UTMA/Custodial is taxed slightly different know as kiddie tax. It is slightly better than the standard brokerage tax on adults. Also it’ll be your child’s assets once you gift the money to the account. When the child turns 18 they can claim the account since. Is rightfully theirs. If you’re planning for expenses before 18, just make sure distributions are paid to or for the benefit of the minor. For first car and etc. Consult your tax advisor. For investments you will most likely have a pretty open platform to buy stocks, etfs mutual funds and so on. I’ve recently liked ESGU or ESGV. Looking to the future of ESG companies.
You should include ESGV in this comparison. It's an ETF that tracks "the performance of the FTSE US All Cap Choice Index." So, in essence the U.S. large, mid, and small cap market. But it excludes "stocks of certain companies in the following industries: adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, fossil fuels, gambling, and nuclear power," basically screening for certain environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria. Interestingly, ESGV has performed better than the S&P 500. So, apparently, investing based on "woke" values translates to a slightly higher performance than not accounting for ESG criteria and just buying ETFs or index funds that simply track the entire market or entire indexes indiscriminately. Just putting it out there. Not advice. Do what you want. And, always do your own thorough and comprehensive research and consider all the risks of investing in any equity. But, I think this should be considered in this discussion, given the undeniable performance and interest in this kind of investing strategy.
>I do ESGV. ER is .10 I think they're saying they invest in just ESGV (Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF) with the expected return being 10% a year. Though it's so pointlessly abbreviated it could mean anyting.
I do this with ESGV. I disagree with the previous comment about ESG. I do not want to invest in cigarette companies and a handful of other bad things for the world. I don’t lose any money over the decision and Vanguard is very clear about their criteria.
This is useful to know. I’m pretty hands-off so if nothing exists yet I might just throw everything into ESGV give it a year or two. The demand for ESG everything seems to be growing fast enough I think the selection will keep getting better for a while. A decade ago there was almost nothing.
Im still figuring this out myself, but I do a mix of ESGV (vanguard esg index) for diversification and put the rest into individual stock picks. Before I open a new position, I screen their ESG rating based using MSCI's ESG rating tool: https://www.msci.com/our-solutions/esg-investing/esg-ratings/esg-ratings-corporate-search-tool I personally like MSFT, who has a plan to be carbon negative by 2030 (I think). APPH is a business built around efficiency in how our produce is ... produced. And BYND has my attention for reducing our reliance on red meat, lowering our carbon footprint. Can't say if all of these are wise investments, just hoping our future shifts towards these industries and practices. This is a good question though, looking forward to other replies.
A lot of those funds that Andrei Jikh mentions are good, it's just that jumbling together so many overlapping ETFs is hard to track. A 3-fund portfolio is a good starting point, and from there add a tilt if you'd like. VT and BND are fine if you just want a very simple breakout, but if you want to adjust international vs domestic stocks, choose your own weighting between VTI and VXUS instead of VT. 2 schools of thought on dividends - one is, it's "safe money" - you'll probably get a few percent from dividends and a few percent from appreciation. On the other hand, a 5% dividend on a "small" amount isn't really enough to live off of, maybe you're better off maximizing total return and when you're getting close to retire, start shifting more heavily into dividend stocks. Having a skew towards value stocks will give you lower volatility, but it's not risk-free money. I'm leaning more towards growth personally (QQQM and/or ARKK for example). As far as ethical investing - there are ESG funds, that depending on your opinion, might be more ethical than the broad market. ESGV is similar to VTI, but it excludes oil companies, tobacco, etc (basically excludes a lot of Value stocks). Tobacco companies have beat the market over the long run, so maybe this would reduce total return, hard to say. Maybe a starting point: VTI VXUS BND (optional for the time being, IMO.. reduces volatility but bond yields are very low right now) Optional additions: ARKK and/or QQQM NOBL or DGRO (avoid high-dividend funds unless you're fine with long-term returns ~2-3% below the broad market) Still some overlap but it's a lot more manageable. If you want to be overweight on growth, have more in ARKK/QQQM than in NOBL/DGRO. Overweight value/dividends, other way around.
I need some advice with my investments... I’m currently 18 living in Florida ending out my senior year of high school. I have a part time job bringing in around $200-$250 a week with around $75 in expenses a week. Sadly my employer requires you to be 21 to enroll in their 401k so that isn’t possible to get into. currently i have just over $1k in crypto, $2k in my roth ira, and around $2000 in my checking account. i’ve been into crypto since i was around 16 or 17 but didn’t really start investing in it til i turned 18. my crypto wallet is 95% VeChain, i bought $600 worth of it around a week ago and it’s doubled since. in the past i’ve had a more diverse holding but i’ve been doing very well with VeChain that i’m considering a long term hold. my roth ira containing around $2k is ~60% VLXVX (vanguard target retirement 2065 mutual fund), ~20% ESGV, 10% VT, and the rest in random penny stocks i’ve heard are good long term holds. i just switched to vanguard from etrade and opened a roth ira and a normal brokerage account with them. $1400 of my $2000 in my checking account was just invested in my personal etrade brokerage account before i switched to vanguard. my plan is to invest $700 of that in my VLXVX fund, $200 in VT, and use the other $500 to learn to invest on my own with individual stocks. i start college in the summer and am planning on studying premed. although that’s my intended major, i am strongly thinking about switching to a different major as my interests have changed recently and i don’t think i’m smart enough and have the ability to deal with the difficulties and price of medical school. i’ve been thinking recently about what to change to but i’ve had trouble deciding. ever since i took my economics class, i’ve been very interested in money and how it works, as well as how to use it to make more money. i’ve always been very smart with my money other than getting into small spending sprees which i blow a lot of money in a short amount of time. i’ve asked for advise a lot in the past few weeks from multiple sources and my main response has been to max out my ira and make sure to have a weekly spending agenda where i pre plan where every penny i make goes. most importantly, my goal is to have a life free of any financial worry. i’d like to spend significantly less money then i’m making so i’m able to constantly pump money into my investments. am i on the right track? what should i do to take advantage of my age and maximize my future wealth?
I need some advice with my investments... I’m currently 18 living in Florida ending out my senior year of high school. I have a part time job bringing in around $200-$250 a week with around $75 in expenses a week. Sadly my employer requires you to be 21 to enroll in their 401k so that isn’t possible to get into. currently i have just over $1k in crypto, $2k in my roth ira, and around $2000 in my checking account. i’ve been into crypto since i was around 16 or 17 but didn’t really start investing in it til i turned 18. my crypto wallet is 95% VeChain, i bought $600 worth of it around a week ago and it’s doubled since. in the past i’ve had a more diverse holding but i’ve been doing very well with VeChain that i’m considering a long term hold. my roth ira containing around $2k is ~60% VLXVX (vanguard target retirement 2065 mutual fund), ~20% ESGV, 10% VT, and the rest in random penny stocks i’ve heard are good long term holds. i just switched to vanguard from etrade and opened a roth ira and a normal brokerage account with them. $1400 of my $2000 in my checking account was just invested in my personal etrade brokerage account before i switched to vanguard. my plan is to invest $700 of that in my VLXVX fund, $200 in VT, and use the other $500 to learn to invest on my own with individual stocks. i start college in the summer and am planning on studying premed. although that’s my intended major, i am strongly thinking about switching to a different major as my interests have changed recently and i don’t think i’m smart enough and have the ability to deal with the difficulties and price of medical school. i’ve been thinking recently about what to change to but i’ve had trouble deciding. ever since i took my economics class, i’ve been very interested in money and how it works, as well as how to use it to make more money