CATH vs ESGU

CATHBGlobal X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF

ESGUAiShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

In short

CATH Same S&P 500 neighborhood, screened through Catholic doctrine instead of a generic ESG rating. Global X has run this faith-based cut of the index since 2016.

ESGU Screening out companies is easy; keeping the market's shape while you do it is the hard part. ESGU's index optimizes toward stronger ESG characteristics while targeting risk and return similar to the broad MSCI USA Index.

Stated mandate

CATH The fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the performance of the S&P 500® Catholic Values Index before fees and expenses.

ESGU Seeks to track an index of large- and mid-cap U.S. companies selected for favorable environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics while seeking risk/return similar to the MSCI USA Index.

Why people hold it

• CATH The screen is the whole point: it tracks the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index, filtering the benchmark on faith-based criteria rather than a broad ESG score.globalxetfs.com
• Still core-shaped underneath: roughly 400 large US companies, index-tracked, no stock-picker's hunches in the mix.
• Live since 2016 and now over a billion dollars in assets, running on an S&P-built index rather than an in-house screen.
• The portfolio sticks tightly to the index it names, so the label and the holdings tell the same story.

• ESGU Not a screen-and-drop portfolio: the index optimizes toward better ESG characteristics while targeting risk and return similar to the broad MSCI USA Index.ishares.com
• 0.15% a year, below the typical fund in its US ESG group, spread across roughly 300 large- and mid-cap names rather than a narrow shortlist.
• Running since 2016, a multi-billion-dollar iShares fund that pays quarterly and sits in the top quartile of a crowded US ESG peer group.

Worth knowing

• CATH At 0.29% a year it runs above the typical fund in its screened-equity group, and well above bare-bones S&P 500 ESG trackers like SNPE and XVV.
• Trading volume is modest next to the biggest names in the category, so spreads can be wider. That cost shows up at the moment you transact.
• Excluding companies means this is not the S&P 500. Results can drift from the parent index in either direction, and distributions come only once or twice a year.

• ESGU Cheaper seats in the same row: XVV at 0.08%, ESGV at 0.09%, SNPE and EFIV at 0.10%, against 0.15% here.
• Market-like risk is the stated goal, so exclusions are lighter than a purist ESG fund and the holdings end up looking a lot like the broad US market.ishares.com
• MSCI's ratings decide who makes the cut, so the portfolio reflects one provider's definition of ESG, not an industry standard.ishares.com

Full CATH profile⁠

Full ESGU profile⁠