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ETFs in Solidarity with Paris & Other Terror-Stricken Lands

Almost three decades ago, the then French Premier Jacques Chirac called terrorism a, “systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face." Too bad, the faceless monster is ruthless taking lives and destroying peace all over the world even today –– Paris being its latest victim. On Friday, November 13, a serial attack on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a stadium in Paris killed around 129 people. This was the worst terrorist attack in Europe in more than a decade.

Paris was blood-soaked when scars were still fresh from the bombing of a Shiite Muslim district of Beirut a few days back and the sudden crash of a Russian airliner two weeks ago. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for all the three attacks (read: Russian Plane Crash Puts this Egypt ETF in Focus).

As per the the Foreign Office, France was on high alert since the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in early January, followed by Egypt. The risk of terrorism is widespread, with Tunisia, Indonesia, Russia, Myanmar, Kenya, the Philippines and Colombia, Turkey, Thailand, Australia and Belgium also on red alert.

At Zacks we value life and freedom. And because we understand how invaluable our hard-earned money is for a dignified living, we too have our ways to showing solidarity with humanity. Below are a few ETF options that speak volumes on social consciousness and responsibility –– the stepping stones to a future that is terror free.

People around the world have been showing their solidarity with France using social media like Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR). And the best way to tap this growing awareness is with Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL), which has a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 or ‘Buy rating. This fund provides exposure to the companies involved in the social media industry, including social networking, file sharing, and other Web-based media applications by tracking the Solactive Social Media Index. It holds 31 securities in its basket with double-digit concentration on the top three firms – LinkedIn, Facebook and Tencent Holdings. Other firms hold less than 5.3% share.

In terms of country exposure, U.S. firms take half of the portfolio, followed by China (28%) and Russia (9%). The fund has $76.9 million in AUM and average daily volume of more than 45,000 shares. Expense ratio comes in at 0.65%. The ETF gained 1.2% on Monday’s trading session (read: Stocks Bleed with Paris; Safe Havens Surge: ETFs in Watch).

But it’s not enough to be only active on social media. What we need perhaps is a sense of responsibility toward ourselves, our families and our neighbors. After all, it’s hard to shake the roots of a strong community. On the markets, investors can connect to the social responsibility space with two popular EETFs – iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI) and iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (KLD). Both funds provide exposure to socially responsible U.S. companies that are pretty well spread out across various components and charge 50 bps in annual fees. Information technology is the top sector in the portfolio of both funds.

DSI is home to a large basket of 402 stocks while KLD holds under 100 stocks. The former has amassed $456.9 million in its asset base and trades in average daily volume of 22,000 shares. On the other hand, KLD has AUM of $335.8 million and average daily volume of less than 13,000 shares. DSI and KLD were up 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively, on the day the markets opened post Paris attacks.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
GLBL-X SOCL MDA (SOCL): ETF Research Reports
 
FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
TWITTER INC (TWTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
ISHARS-KLD 400 (DSI): ETF Research Reports
 
ISHARS-USA ESG (KLD): ETF Research Reports
 
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Zacks Investment Research
 
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