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Invest in These ETFs Backed by Women Power

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International Women’s Day just around the corner. So, let us evaluate the position of women in the financial world. Firms having more female employees in top brass have a tendency to outperform the market.

Given this, many investors are seeking to add female-centric companies to their portfolio, although the list is still small. While betting on an individual company is certainly a good option, investors can also play this space with lower risk and higher diversification benefits in a basket form. Currently, there are a few ETFs like SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE - Free Report) , Impact Shares YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF (WOMN - Free Report) and Barclays Women in Leadership ETN , offering broad exposure to women-led companies.

The study, conducted by The Pipeline, firms with women in senior roles performed better than male-run companies by almost 40%. The latest study from S&P Global Market Intelligence found that public companies with women in the CEO spot or serving as a chief financial officer were more profitable and had a stronger stock price performance compared to companies with men in the top jobs (read: 4 Sector ETFs Flying High Amid Market Turmoil).

In 2021, more high-profile women than ever climbed their way to the top spots at the Fortune 500 companies to take over from male predecessors. The number of women running the Fortune 500 companies hit an all-time high of 41 in 2021. This is up from 37 in 2020, 33 in 2019 and just two seen 20 years ago. With 41 women on the Fortune 500 list, women leaders hold just 8.1% of Fortune 500 CEO spots.

According to many researchers, companies with greater levels of gender diversity on their boards of directors were more profitable than their male-dominant counterparts. Gender diversity usually results in increased productivity, greater innovation, better decision-making as well as higher employee retention and satisfaction. Companies with greater diversity on their boards have also experienced lower volatility in earnings and dividends. All these suggest a new era of women leadership in world economy.

If we come to managing the COVID-19 crisis, which put the economy into a recession last year, study found that women leaders have navigated the pandemic more successfully than comparable male counterparts.

ETFs in Focus

SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE - Free Report)

SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF offers exposure to U.S. companies that demonstrate greater gender diversity within senior leadership than other firms in their sector by tracking the SSGA Gender Diversity Index. It holds 191 stocks with none accounting for more than 6.1% share. From a sector look, information technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary receive double-digit exposure each.

SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF has amassed $254.8 million in its asset base while trades in a light volume of about 12,000 shares. It charges 20 bps in annual fees (see: all the Large Cap Blend ETFs here).

Impact Shares YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF (WOMN - Free Report)

Impact Shares YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF has attracted $35.9 million in AUM and trades in volume of about 3,000 shares a day on average. It tracks the Morningstar Women’s Empowerment Index, which is designed to provide exposure to companies worldwide with strong policies and practices in support of women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Impact Shares YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF holds 205 stocks in its portfolio, with none making up for more than 5% of assets. The product charges 75 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.

Barclays Women in Leadership ETN

Barclays Women in Leadership ETN is linked to the performance of the Barclays Women in Leadership Total Return USD Index, which provides exposure to U.S.-based companies that satisfy one or both the gender diversity criteria of having a female chief executive officer or having at least 25% female members on the board of directors (read: 5 Sector ETFs Benefiting From Russia-Ukraine Tensions).

Barclays Women in Leadership ETN has amassed $4 million in its asset base and trades in a paltry volume of around 200 shares. Expense ratio comes in at 0.45%. WIL has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.


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SPDR MSCI USA Gender Diversity ETF (SHE) - free report >>

Impact Shares YWCA Women's Empowerment ETF (WOMN) - free report >>

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