The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.

JLens
A new exchange-traded fund that tracks US public companies and avoids those that don’t align with Jewish values has started to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The new entity is called the JLens 500 Jewish Advocacy US ETF. It uses the ticker symbol “TOV,” the Hebrew word for “good”.

The ETF has been created by JLens, an RIA and affiliate of the Anti-Defamation League. Several US Jewish organizations, along with the ADL Foundation, have committed to invest more than $100 million in seed capital to launch the new fund. The supporting organizations include the Atlanta Jewish Foundation, Goodman Family Foundation, Jewish Community Partners (Memphis), Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, Libitzky Family Foundation, and Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust.

TOV tracks the JLens 500 Jewish Advocacy US Index. 

“The launch of TOV reflects the need for a strong, deliberate and innovative response to the unprecedented spike in antisemitism following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023,” Jonathan A Greenblatt, CEO and national director of ADL, said. “In the aftermath of this event, we have seen a wave of actions against corporations by the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as well as more Jewish employees finding themselves in hostile workplaces, which demands a robust response.”

Such investment entities highlight how those with particular views of world events, cultural and religious values can target the use of their money. With geopolitics volatile at the moment, there is also debate on whether weapons manufacturers and related defense stocks are admissable in portfolios. In terms of Shariah finance, when it comes to ETFs, there is the iShares MSCI World Islamic UCITS ETF, which is listed in London. Switching faiths, there is the New York-listed Inspire 100 ETF – ticker symbol "BIBL" from biblically responsible investing firm, Inspire Investing. 

According to JLens, more than 75 of the 500 largest US public corporations were targeted by BDS activists in the past year.

JLens is a non-profit that empowers investors to align their capital with Jewish values and advocates for Jewish communal priorities in the corporate arena.