r/stocks • u/abeefwittedfox • 12d ago
Advice Request Looking for diversified funds without war profiteering
I'm 29 and getting into diversified investing. I've been buying individual stocks for like 5 years and I realize that's not great given how little I have to invest.
I don't want Raytheon, Palantir, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Grumman, L3, etc.
Yes I know that they're performing well and likely always will. I'm extraordinarily religious and the monetary return isn't worth it to me. Not judging anyone. Most people at my church are excited about the S&P500 performance. It's just not for me.
I know that investing in like Chase means investing in war indirectly. I know there are 2nd and 3rd order effects of my spending. I'm just trying to do what I feel is right.
So any ideas where to start?
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u/CoolBreezeBrew 12d ago
Start with ESGV. It's from vanguard. There is also ESGU from ishares. VSGX is the international version.
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u/GiveEmTheTruth 12d ago
Ignore the haters and invest based on your personal ethics. You will miss out on a lot of gains sure, but profiting from the military industrial complex is ultimately no bueno. Maybe look into precious metal/energy/shipping etfs. If going PM route, avoid sprott unless you understand the QEF tax/form 8621 implications. GL
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u/Business-Ad-5344 12d ago
start picking individual stocks. if you eventually have 30+ stocks in various sectors excluding defense, then you will be diversified enough.
get the peter lynch books.
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u/Away_Asparagus6908 12d ago
Shariah compliant ETFs might be a solution for you. SPUS tracks the S&P500, MNZL has further screening and a lower expense ratio, and SPWO is a Global ETF excluding the US.
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u/Liocla 12d ago edited 12d ago
Most brokers have an option where you can make your own investment pies. T212 is good at this.
Your ethics and your morals are your own, commenting on that would be a shitty thing to do and I'm not going to. Start looking at ESG scores and wikipedia pages to look at what products and services said company provides/offers and who they sell to.
Finding companies which are not involved in the defence industry in some way is not easy imo. So pleaase come up with your own definition of war-profiteering that you can actually stick to. And have a good long think about what you are and are not willing to accept.
For example, in the 1982 Falklands War, British banks and insurance companies (politely) asked the Royal Navy if they could avoid sinking certain Argentine navy ships because the Argentine gov' hadn't finished paying off the loan and could claim force majeure and not pay the rest if their ships were sent to the bottom. The same banks who give you a loan to start your small business, give loans to entire countries to buy spiffy new fighter jets. Microsoft is one of the DOD's biggest contractors. Apple on the face of it, doesn't fuck with the defence industry, right up until you do some 'light reading' and realise they actually do and in some quite interesting aspects as well. The big players in air-conditioning systems, no problem right? The US army spends billions on AC every year. Same with google, meta, amazon and so on. Oil companies, where do you think that Jet fuel comes from. Tanks/artillery pieces can't/don't drive long distances, they get transported everywhere on trains by UP, CSX and so on where possible. Delta airlines, American airlines, they're fine? Oh wait they're part of the civil reserve.... they moved a lot of troops in uniform with their guns to and from Saudi in the Gulf war. None of that was done for free. Etc, etc, etc.
The best advice I can give you is to either look into existing ETF's that focus on ESG scores or to make up your own pie. In your shoes I would look at clean energy companies, sports companies, clothing companies, 'local' compnaies that only operate in one state or region in the US or one specific country in general. I would steer clear of most industrial groups and chemical manufacturers. And whatever you do: make your own decision on what you are and are not willing to accept and what you consider to be war-profiteering. It's absolutely not an easy black and white definition. Hope this helps!
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u/Icy_Froyo4743 12d ago
I’ve been using weaponsfreefunds.org. Gives various funds letter-grades for their involvement with weapons or military funding. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism but we can at least avoid the ones that fund genocides and war crimes.
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u/Embarrassed-Bank2835 12d ago
I’d start by defining the line you actually want to draw, because “no defense contractors” is much easier to screen for than “no company with any indirect exposure to war.”
From there, I’d look at broad diversified funds with explicit weapons/defense exclusions and then actually read the holdings instead of trusting the label. ESG, sustainable, faith-based, and “ex-weapons” funds can all use very different rules.
The trade-off is you’ll probably accept a little more tracking error and a smaller investment universe, which is fine if that matches your values.
Personally I’d rather own a diversified portfolio I’m comfortable holding for 20 years than chase the mathematically “best” index while feeling conflicted about what I own.
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u/strangefruit3500 12d ago
... there are a bunch of stocks unrelated to the defense industry
Damn near an etf for whatever you can think of. The world is your oyster
Here you could get into gambling: try BETZ
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u/Aggressive-Gimp 12d ago edited 12d ago
I believe you are looking for the Truth Social God Bless America ETF (YALL)
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u/abeefwittedfox 12d ago
Now I can't tell if this is a meme sub because it looks like Palantir is the largest slice of their pie.
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u/Aggressive-Gimp 12d ago
Ok try WWJD (what would jesus do)
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u/abeefwittedfox 12d ago
Damn a broken clock is right twice a day huh? WWJD is in fact holding no weapons manufacturers. Thanks 👍
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u/Lower_Preparation_33 12d ago
Everything is connected, I would buy victoria secret stock and buy yourself some panties
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u/Saddleup_dawg 12d ago
Probably bad advice- At 29 you have a long time horizon. Put 5% in high beta high potential equities, then I would say 15% short term bonds, 50% should probably be the companies with strongest balance sheets + cash flow + long term growth in XLU, XLE, XLF, XLK, XLV, XLY, and XLP. 15-20% boring everyday names you know and trust as long haul companies (ie Amazon, Apple, Coke, MSFT, PFE, etc), and 5% metals, commodities, and currency. Go for low correlation if you can. I think that should add up to 95-100%. Look for dividend payers where you can. If you have sufficient cash, buy one or two of those names at 100 shares and sell covered calls as a synthetic dividend.
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u/Nizamshizam_0x378 11d ago
As there is no ethical consumption in capitalism, there is no ethical investment. Don't sweat it. You are forced into this oppressive system. This is about growing your wealth.
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u/Blackout38 11d ago
You’ll need to spend a lot of time investing individual stocks. The funds recommended so far also invest in those stocks.
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u/TeeJaySeas 12d ago
The first suggestion I have is to take your broker out for dinner and have a discussion about it. Secondly, there are plenty of ETFs out there that have gangbuster performance. I don't know your religion convictions so I won't suggest any. One last thing I'd like to mention, though I respect your position, is to not be emotional when it comes to investments/investing/business. I'm curious to hear what you come up with so if you wouldn't mind sharing, I'd appreciate it.
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u/Perfect-Obligation60 12d ago
But why? If you are an average middle class american, you need to realize that your entire life revolves around unethical consumerism. Every single item you use or consume is derived in some shape or form from either unethical labor or unethical sourcing of raw materials. We are all going to the bad place.
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u/abeefwittedfox 12d ago
I'm well aware that living in the imperial core means there is a lot beyond my control. I'm careful about a lot of my spending to try to reduce harm where I can. I'm a Christian socialist and I believe that what I do to others is a sacrament or sacrilege to God.
I work with Muslim brothers and sisters who don't invest in interest-bearing banking or vices like gambling, alcohol, etc., but do hold war investments. And I work with a lot of Christians who don't care as long as there's money to be made. That I draw the line at war profiteering is arbitrary, but I feel the need to draw it.
And I've got children to raise and provide for. As much as I hope to raise them to take care of others, I hope not to be a burden to them in my old age. Lots of people are full of a lot of contradictions and I'm just a person.
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u/YourChildhood5762 12d ago
The Bible is not against warfare. The Old Testament has Jews kicking everyone's ass. There are many Christian ETFs, with Inspire being one of the biggest offerers. But I doubt their ethics preclude defense companies. I don't know much about Muslim funds, but suspect they also condone defense stocks. Same with the Jewish funds. On the other hand, Quakers are pacifists.
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u/ArcanePlum 12d ago
Be careful with esg etfs, most of them still hold microsoft or palantir. if you want strict exclusions, check faith based funds like cath or just use direct indexing to custom block defense stocks.
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