ESGU vs TPSC

ESGUAiShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

TPSCCTimothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF

In short

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.

TPSC Small caps run through two filters at once: a biblically responsible screen, and volatility weighting that sizes each holding by how much the stock moves rather than how big the company is.

Stated mandate

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.

TPSC The Fund seeks to match, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Victory US Small Cap Volatility Weighted BRI Index.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• TPSC The index weights by volatility instead of market cap, so the jumpiest names get the smallest slots. A different shape of small cap exposure than a cap-weighted fund.
• The faith screen lives in the index rules, not a manager's judgment: the fund's job is to match the Victory US Small Cap Volatility Weighted BRI Index before fees and expenses.
• At 0.52%, it charges the median fee for its US small cap peer group, and it pays distributions monthly.
• Live since 2019 and one of the stronger implementations in its small cap peer group on our review, with no structural red flags in the wrapper.

Worth knowing

• 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

• TPSC Thinly traded next to the giants of the category, so bid-ask spreads can run wider, particularly in fast markets.
• Broad small cap rivals AVUV and AVSC charge 0.25%, under half this fund's 0.52%.
• Values screens plus volatility weighting mean the portfolio can look and behave quite differently from a standard cap-weighted small cap index. Matching one isn't the goal.

Full ESGU profile⁠

Full TPSC profile⁠