On Tuesday, Chicago-based V-Square Quantitative Management LLC (V-Square), a global asset management firm with sustainability at its core, announced that it has expanded its market-leading capabilities with the launch of its first thematic ETF, the V-Shares US Leadership Diversity ETF (VDNI).
Designed to track the ISS ESG US Diversity Index, the fund is the first ETF to hold a basket of companies with a specific focus on broad ethnic and gender representation for board directors and Named Executive Officers (NEOs). The fund’s holdings are selected from a universe of large-, mid-, and small-capitalization U.S. companies.
“We are thrilled to launch the V-Shares US Leadership Diversity ETF (VDNI), tracking an innovative index, seeking to unlock the diversity value, and focused on diversified human capital in leadership positions accounting for both gender and ethnicity,” said Mamadou-Abou Sarr, co-founder and president of V-Square Quantitative Management.
“VDNI is a great addition to our investment offering, providing investors with a thoughtful way to align their US All Cap exposure with their values.”
With the launch of VDNI, V-Square expands its relationship with ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), and will be the first asset manager in the U.S. to license the ISS ESG US Diversity Index for an ETF.
“Diversification and Diversity have more in common than their Latin root; they both carry value. Human capital is a key driving force of any business that enjoys the benefits of diversification. Diversity at the senior leadership level is often a foreteller of a healthy company culture, which in turn strengthens the levers and drivers of sustainable corporate performance,” said Habib Moudachirou, co-founder and CIO of V-Square Quantitative Management.
The investment framework for VDNI will be reinforced by V-Square’s custom proxy voting policy guided by the core tenets of accountability, stewardship, transparency, and sustainability. By focusing on these areas of responsible governance, V-Square seeks to promote long-term shareholder value creation and risk mitigation at portfolio companies.
A Thematic ETF
“We are excited that V-Square has chosen the ISS ESG US Diversity Index Total Return to launch its first thematic ESG ETF suite. This launch is both timely and highly relevant for the many institutional investors and asset owners now working to incorporate best-in-class gender and ethnic diversity metrics into their portfolios,” said Hernando Cortina, head of index strategy at ISS ESG.
For more information about V-Shares, visit www.v-shares.com.
For more news and information about V-Square, visit the www.vsqm.com.
About V-Square
V-Square Quantitative Management LLC is a global asset manager with sustainability at its core. V-Square specializes in developing and managing customized passive and factor-based portfolios and delivers analytics to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) into portfolio, risk management and reporting. A subsidiary of Chicago private equity firm Valor Equity Partners, V-Square has a unique approach to sustainability taking a long-term view that is deeply rooted in academic research overlayed with a rigorous quantitative process.