This fund has relatively low exposure to ESG risk compared with its peers in the US Equity Mid Cap category, earning it the second highest Morningstar Sustainability Rating of 4 globes. ESG risk measures the degree to which material environmental, social, and governance issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, human capital, as well as bribery and corruption, could affect valuations. ESG risk differs from impact, which is about driving positive environmental and social outcomes for society’s benefit.
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF holds itself out to be a sustainable or ESG-focused investment. In other words, ESG concerns are central to the investment process of this strategy. A fund with an ESG-focused mandate would have a higher probability to drive positive ESG outcomes. Gabelli Love Our Planet & People Etf shows 26.3% involvement in carbon solutions. This percentage is high in absolute terms and surpasses the 7.9% average involvement of its peers in the Mid-cap Blend category. Carbon solutions include products and services related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, green transportation, and so on.
Currently, the fund has 11.6% involvement in fossil fuels, surpassing 8.8% for the average peer in its category. Companies are considered involved in fossil fuels if they derive some revenue from thermal coal, oil, and gas.
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF has a 12-month asset-weighted Carbon Risk Score of 10.2. This is situated at the lower end of the medium carbon risk band, suggesting that its portfolio holdings are not among the worst-positioned to transition to a low-carbon economy, but they are not among the best-positioned either. Investors concerned about the transition risks may prefer to consider funds with negligible or low carbon risk. Funds with a lower carbon risk classification may be more favored by investors concerned about transition risks, as such funds often tilt toward companies that operate in sectors less exposed to the transition (for example, healthcare and IT) or companies in more carbon-intensive sectors (for example, materials and utilities) that consider climate change in their business strategy, and therefore are positively aligned with the transition. By prospectus, the fund aims to avoid, or limit its exposure to, companies associated with controversial weapons, tobacco, thermal coal, and and small arms. The fund mostly fulfills this goal; however, it does exhibit 0.89% exposure to companies involved in thermal coal. This compares with 1.64% for its average peer in the US Equity Mid Cap category. The fund has a modest level of exposure (2.86%) to companies with high or severe controversies. Companies with controversies are involved in incidents such as corruption, employee abuses, and that pose some degree of business risks to the company. Severe and high controversies can have significant financial repercussions, ranging from legal penalties to consumer boycotts. In addition, they controversies can damage the reputation of both companies themselves and their shareholders.
United States