Socially responsible ETFs are more than a fell good investment. Strategies that track companies with the best interest of Americans at heart have also turned around a better return.
“America’s Most JUST Companies consistently outperform their peers in wages, job creation, work-life balance, environmental impact, and return on equity,” Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital, said in a note. “Aligning corporate behavior with the priorities of the American people is good for workers and good for business.”
According to a recent survey conducted by JUST Capital and Forbes, when compared to the Russell 1000 peers, America’s Most JUST Companies, which includes the JUST 100 list of top companies, have on average pay their median workers 26% more, pay a living wage to 12% more of their workers, are 9 times more likely to have conducted gender pay equity analyses, are 4 times more likely to have PTO and parental leave policy disclosures, are nearly 2 times more likely to offer flexible work hours or day care, are nearly 4 times more likely to have diversity targets, recycle 8 times more waste, give 6 times as much to charitable causes per dollar of revenue and employ 2.4 times as many U.S. workers.
More importantly to investors, these companies that look out for their American workers are also more likely to see improved business activity. For example, these JUST companies pay 99% fewer sales terms fines, 90% fewer environmental fines, 71% fewer worker safety fines and 41% fewer EEOC fines per dollar of revenue. Furthermore, JUST companies Have a 5% higher return-on-equity at 23% versus the 18% found for the average Russell 1000 company.
“Trust in our institutions is more important than ever right now. The JUST 100 recognizes companies that are doing right within society,” Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane said in a note. “The Rankings help companies gauge their progress on benchmarks that go far beyond quarterly earnings toward long-term value creation for all stakeholders.”