EFIV vs RAFE

EFIVAState Street SPDR S&P 500 ESG ETF

RAFEBPIMCO RAFI ESG U.S. ETF

In short

EFIV A screened S&P 500 that still looks like one. EFIV trims to about 300 names on ESG criteria but holds industry-group weights close to the parent index, for 0.10% a year.

RAFE Most ESG index funds rescreen a familiar large-cap benchmark and weight it by market value. RAFE runs PIMCO's RAFI rules instead: a long-only, rules-based blend of ESG screening and smart beta, landing on roughly 240 US stocks.

Stated mandate

EFIV The Fund seeks to track an index of securities selected using environmental, social, and governance sustainability criteria while retaining industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500 Index.

RAFE The fund seeks total returns closely corresponding to the RAFI ESG US Index by investing at least 80% of assets in its component securities. The index uses a long-only, rules-based ESG and smart-beta approach.

Why people hold it

• EFIV Charges 0.10% a year, well under the 0.25% typical of its values-screened peer group.
• Keeps industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500, so the screen changes which names you own more than which sectors.
• Tracks its declared index very tightly, one of the cleaner implementations in its cohort.
• Straightforward 1940 Act index fund from SPDR, running since 2020, distributing quarterly.

• RAFE Different engine from the cap-weighted crowd: the RAFI ESG US Index sets both the screens and the weights by rule, and the fund keeps at least 80% of assets in those index names.
• It has tracked its index very closely since launch, which is the core job of any index fund and the main thing you are paying for here.
• Roughly 240 stocks is a tighter roster than the 500-name screened index funds that dominate this shelf, so the rules actually show up in the portfolio.
• Live since 2019 under a standard 1940 Act fund wrapper, all-US equity, with cash paid out on a quarterly schedule.

Worth knowing

• EFIV About 300 stocks, not 500. The screens remove names, so results can diverge from the headline S&P 500.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist: XVV at 0.08% and ESGV at 0.09% undercut it on fee.
• Mid-size asset base and moderate trading volume, which can mean wider spreads than the mega-cap index giants.

• RAFE The rules cost money: 0.30% a year against a 0.25% cohort median, while cap-weighted ESG rivals like ESGV, XVV and SNPE sit near or below 0.10%.
• It is a small, thinly traded fund by category standards, so the spread at the moment you trade matters more than it would in a mega-cap ESG index fund.
• The ESG definition is the index provider's, not yours: inclusion follows RAFI ESG US Index rules, so check the methodology against what you actually want screened.

Full EFIV profile⁠

Full RAFE profile⁠