As Corporate America Says ‘Black Lives Matter,’ OpenInvest Updates its Racial Justice Portfolio & Brings Transparency to Which Leaders are Helping or Hindering Equality

OpenInvest, the leading values-based financial technology company, today released new names of companies that qualify for its Racial Justice Cause. Launched over a year ago, the Racial Justice Cause gives visibility into which corporations are contributing to socio-economic equality while giving investors the ability to invest or divest from those that don’t. 

“35 Ventures is proud to support OpenInvest in their pursuit to tackle socio-economic inequality through the development of a social justice investment vehicle. In today’s climate, it is more important than ever to empower investors to use their financial assets as a force for change,” said Rich Kleiman, co-founder at Thirty Five Ventures.

OpenInvest’s Racial Justice Cause: Newly Added and Removed Corporations

The Racial Justice Cause dynamically informs portfolios by overweighting companies with criteria that include quantitative metrics for racial diversity in their employee base, board composition, and actions taken to support racial equality. Additionally, companies brought to light in diversity controversies or those who disproportionately pollute in low-income or minority communities are underweighted.

Companies That Are Included: 

1. Accenture
2. Alaska Air 
3. Best Buy
4. Carnival Corp 
5. Citigroup
6. Comcast
7. Hewlett Packard  
8. Marriott International Inc
9. MGM Resorts International
10. Nvidia
11. PepsiCo
12. Under Armour 
13. Yum! Brands

Companies That Are Removed:

1. American Airlines
2. Chevron - removed two years in a row 
3. Delta Airlines
4. Ecolab
5. Exxon Mobil - removed two years in a row 
6. McDonald’s - removed two years in a row 
7. General Motors
8. Waste Management Inc
9. U.S. Bancorp
10. Walmart - removed two years in a row 
11. Viacom

The above companies join a host of corporations that are on the list two years in a row and were excluded when the ESG cause launched last year. These include JPMorganChase, Home Depot, Microsoft, Oracle, and Wells Fargo. 

“For those fortunate enough to have investment portfolios, their financial choices can become one of the most powerful tools they have to shape the world,” said Josh Levin, co-founder of OpenInvest. “New technology has finally made these decisions more transparent and easy to execute. Now anyone can put their money where their mouth is.”

The OpenInvest Racial Justice Cause is built from an analysis of thousands of indicator-level data points from earnings reports, public disclosures, workforce diversity reports, and academic research from June 2019 - June 2020.

This announcement comes at a time of increased focus on achieving racial equality and anti-racist actions. Despite efforts to be transparent and release yearly diversity and inclusion reports, data shows that Black people -- who account for about 12% of the U.S. population -- only occupy 3.2% of the senior leadership roles at large companies in the U.S. and just 0.8% of all Fortune 500 CEO positions, according to a 2019 report by the Center for Talent Innovation. What’s more, communities of color bear the brunt of pollution and lack of protection against basic human rights like clean drinking water.    

For more information and to see if OpenInvest can help you align your portfolio with your values, go to openinvest.com/causes/invest-racial-justice.

About OpenInvest

OpenInvest is a values-based financial services company that helps advisors engage their clients and grow their business. We offer environmental, social, governance (ESG) investment management products and impact reporting services. Our investment management solutions use proprietary technology to seamlessly create low-cost investment portfolios tailored to our clients’ values while tracking market indices. Our best-in-class impact reports reflect the tangible impact our clients’ portfolios have on the world. Backed by YC and Andreessen Horowitz, OpenInvest is one of the only VC-backed Public Benefit Corporations. Learn more at openinvest.com.

Contact Information

Maggie Philbin

Vice President

VSC for OpenInvest

(1) 2033941818

openinvest@vsc.co