Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment insights, has announced the launch of the Morningstar Developed Markets LGBTQ+ Leaders Index.
The move aims to provide exposure to 100 large- and mid-cap companies with strong LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices across various regions and sectors.
This addition enhances Morningstar’s suite of socially focused indexes, which includes the Minority Empowerment Index, Gender Diversity Index, and Women’s Empowerment Index.
The new product addresses the growing demand for investment tools that focus on socially responsible and inclusive practices.
For investors, it provides a focused approach to investing in companies with strong LGBTQ+ policies, allowing for values-based investing and potential financial returns.
Top holdings in the index include prominent companies like Eli Lilly & Co., JP Morgan Chase, Alphabet, Apple, and Johnson & Johnson, which have demonstrated substantial DEI policies and support for LGBTQ+ representation and advocacy at the leadership level.
The product is underpinned by data from Morningstar Sustainalytics and ExecuPride, which assess companies based on their LGBTQ+ policies and practices.
The methodology includes screening for controversial product involvement, UN Global Compact compliance, and severe ESG controversies. Companies are then ranked by ExecuPride scores and size, with the top 100 firms selected for the index.
The development of the Morningstar Developed Markets LGBTQ+ Leaders Index also involved consultation with LGBTQ+ organizations and experts, such as LGBT Great and myGwork, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion leads at Morningstar. This ensures that the index is comprehensive and reflective of current best practices in LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Morningstar, Inc. provides data, analysis, and tools to help investors make informed decisions. Morningstar Indexes, part of the company, has been the fastest growing global index provider for the past three years, according to Burton-Taylor International Consulting.
Ron Bundy – President, Morningstar Indexes & Morningstar Sustainalytics, said, “We are thrilled to add this new capability to our growing suite of indexes to empower investors while expanding our global sustainability index offering. Our new index fulfills a market need by enabling investors to tap into global companies with leading LGBTQ+ policies to pursue their investment objectives, whether for values alignment, or to pursue investment opportunity, or a combination.”
Rob Edwards – Global Director of ESG Product Management, Morningstar Indexes, added, “The index industry has made great strides in recent years to develop products that fall under the ‘S’ in ESG. Yet, while there are a number of broad socially focused indexes available in the market today, few options focus on sexual orientation or gender identity. In developing the Morningstar Developed Markets LGBTQ+ Leaders Index, our objective was to bring greater transparency to LGBTQ+ practices and policies in the workplace and how companies are incorporating these approaches into their strategy. We opted to do this in a way that stresses an objective, data-based approach.”
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