Published on 12/15/2021

2nd Vote is an organization that played an integral role in inspiring the C3 team to start Christ Centered Capital. 2nd Vote sums up their mission and focus in the following way…

“2ndVote’s goal is to stop companies and organizations from funding the attack on traditional American values. Your first vote is cast at the ballot box, hoping to make a difference. Your second vote is in the checkout line. Corporations use a portion of the money you spend to fund a number of causes, many of which are harming our families, our communities and our future. With 2ndVote, you become an informed consumer who knows how your money is used after it is spent.”

2nd vote is a key research partner for us here at C3 and they do a great job finding out what companies and organizations are aligned with conservative values. 2nd Vote also has a subsidiary called 2nd Vote advisors. At 2nd Vote Advisors they have come up with three ETF’s that are publicly traded that have three different but key focuses for the culture. These ETF’s are listed below and C3 has provided our take on each ETF.

 

ESGN – is the 2nd Vote ETF comprised of companies that score at least a 3 out of 5 on each of 2nd votes social issue categories. The categories are Life, Basic Freedoms, 2nd Amendment, Civil-Safe Society, Education and Environment. The ETF takes the 50 stocks that meet the social issue criteria and also have the best financial position on the current market. This index is disseminated on an end-of-day basis.

This ETF is better than most major ETF’s out there but is far from perfect. Below are just some of the things C3 would like investors to know before considering the ESGN ETF.

  • 5 Securities involved with Selling Alcohol (AD, CA, SBRY, Asahi Group, and Suntory Beverage & Food)
  • 1 security involved with Gambling (AGS)
  • 1 security involved with Embryonic Stem Cell Research (Astellas Pharma)
  • At least 9 securities involved with LGBT activism (AV., MAERSKA, NN, PUB, SBRY, SU, TEF, VOD, and Nomura Holdings)

EGIS – is an actively managed fund of US stocks that meet 2nd amendment and border security criteria that is judged by 2nd Vote Advisors. This ETF is also another option for investors that is far more morally palatable than most other options on the market but does still have its flaws that C3 would like to call out. The unfavorable activity that some of the securities are involved with in this ETF are listed below.

  • At least 16 securities involved with LGBT activism
  • 1 security involved with Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • 1 security involved with tobacco production

LYFE – is another 2nd Vote managed ETF that focuses on companies that have financial potential and do NOT support any pro-choice causes or organizations. This is the ETF that C3 could get behind the most out of the three by 2nd Vote but would not be a recommendation by the C3 team. It is great to have an ETF that exists that is actively screening out Pro-Choice organizations but there is a lot of LGBT Philanthropy and legislation in this ETF as well as one company that distributes Pornographic content.

  • At least 15 securities involved with LGBT activism
  • 1 security involved with producing and distributing pornographic content

ETFs are a tricky business. So many different companies rolled up into one investment means there is bound to be some troubling characteristics present. The 2nd Vote ETFs are some of the better ones out there, but C3 suggests downloading our Mock Portfolio and using that as a simple investment guide. C3 does like some of the ETFs put out by inspire Investments such as ticker symbols BLES, BIBL or FEVR but these options also have some flaws given their inclusion of foreign companies and their biblical screening process relying heavily on ESG ratings. Check out C3’s takes on ESG HERE.

If you are dead set on investing into an ETF then 2nd Vote’s products are worth considering but C3 would recommend a different approach. Below are some references for the above content.

 

ALL PRAISE AND GLORY TO OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!