ETF Trends’ CEO Tom Lydon discusses the IQ Healthy Hearts ETF (HART) on this week’s ETF of the Week podcast with Chuck Jaffe of the MoneyLife Show.
Lydon explains that ESG has seen an explosion of interest and inflows in the last year in particular, and with the bevy of ESG-related funds now in the market, advisors and investors can customize their ESG allocations more to align with their values.
Over 16 million people die each year from heart disease in the U.S., and cardiovascular disease is the number one killer globally. Over 127 million Americans over the age of 20 currently live with the condition.
HART is a “dual impact” ETF that invests in companies that are working to diagnose, treat, and research cardiovascular disease while also donating a portion of its profits to the American Heart Association.
“There’s not a family in the U.S. that’s not been negatively affected by heart disease,” says Lydon. “If you feel that this initiative warrants a small portion or allocation in your portfolio, not only can you participate with the advancements [being made in cardiovascular research and treatment], but you also know, in your heart, you’re giving profits from this back to the American Heart Association as well.”
Jaffe expresses concern about investing in a thematic ETF and how he prefers to keep his investments and donations separate, but Lydon counters that it’s an investment that can help advance a portfolio while also making you feel good for contributing to a cause and helping fund research into heart disease. Addressing the concern of the thematic nature of the fund, Lydon explains that it’s a fund that is investing more broadly within the general theme of heart health.
“If you look at areas that it invests in like mobile devices, personal computers, wearables, athletic footwear, apparel, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, it’s pretty expansive. It’s not as thinly sliced as you think, so if it’s something of interest, lift up the hood, look inside; it’s spread out in a lot of areas that affect your day-to-day life,” Lydon says.
