This week, the NAACP joined Impact Shares, a company that helps organizations translate their social values into an investable product that is traded on the Exchange, in ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to highlight the launch of the NAACP Minority Empowerment ETF (NYSE Arca: NACP).
The ceremony marked the first time the nation’s premier civil rights organization’s 110-year history has participated in ringing the NYSE bell.
“ETFs represent the means by which communities can support those companies that invest in us and are concerned about our issues,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
“NACP serves as a capital markets bridge, allowing investors to align their equity portfolios with companies that have a strong track record of supporting the NAACP’s mission of racial and ethnic equality,” said Ethan Powell, CEO of Impact Shares. “We are grateful for our continued partnership with the NAACP, and excited to commemorate the organization’s 110-year legacy with this historic bell-ringing.”
The ceremony also included a panel discussion “Using Capital Markets to Create Social Equity,” featuring Jim Casselberry, CIO of the Sarowitz Family LLC, former stock trader for Rosenblatt Securities; Lauren Simmons, who made history as the youngest and only full time female NYSE trader; Guaylon Arnic, Co-Portfolio Manager at Profit Investment Management; and Moderator Reggie Browne, Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
According to sources, the fund’s objective is to “track the Morningstar Minority Empowerment Index, which is designed to provide exposure to US companies with strong racial and ethnic diversity policies in place, empowering employees irrespective of their race or nationality.”
