Investment Firm Launches MAGA Fund To Support Trump And Republicans
A Texas-based investment firm is launching the first exchange traded fund (ETF) that will invest in stocks that are highly supportive of federal Republican candidates including President Donald Trump, The Daily Caller has learned.
Hal Lambert, founder of Point Bridge Capital, is launching the Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF – stock ticker MAGA. The ETF will trade like a single stock and any investor with a brokerage account will be able to purchase MAGA beginning Sept. 7.
The ETF strategy starts with stocks in the S&P 500 and analyzes the political contributions of the employees and the company PACs. The top 150 Republican stocks based on their contribution data are then included in the ETF. Lambert, a major Texas Republican fundraiser, refers to the approach as “politically responsible investing.”
The fund is launching as major corporations are increasingly getting involved in politics. Vox recently asked whether corporations are becoming the new arbiters of public morality.
Lambert told TheDC the top five Republican contributors in the past two election cycles were: AT&T, Marathon Petroleum, Home Depot, Exxon Mobil, and Altria. “All of those stocks will be in the ETF,” Lambert said.
The top five Democrat contributors were: Alphabet (Google), Time Warner, Walt Disney, Apple, and Dish Network.
As of the most recent election cycle, the MAGA ETF will not have any large technology companies that are typically Democratic in their contributions, but Lambert maintains that with 150 stocks, it still contains plenty of industry diversity.
Lambert told TheDC: “Corporations have been very active in political contributions and those effect the outcome of elections. Many are now becoming outwardly vocal in their attacks on President Trump and Republican policies to the detriment of their shareholders and the country. Investors need to support the companies that are supportive of President Trump and the Republican Party because that drives policy across the country.”
“How can a company that has a fiduciary duty to shareholders support candidates that want higher taxes on their company which ultimately harms their shareholders? Investors should have a way to say no thank you to companies that are actively against their interests.” http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/31/exclusive-firm-launches-maga-fund-to-support-trump-and-republicans/
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This ETF wants to 'Make America Great Again'
Matthew Rocco
Published September 13, 2017
President Donald Trump has inspired a new exchanged-traded fund (ETF) with a familiar ring to it. The Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker (MAGA) trades under the ticker MAGA, a reference to Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again,” and it began trading this week.
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The ETF doesn’t necessarily track stocks that stand to benefit from the Trump administration’s agenda. Rather, MAGA includes S&P 500 companies whose political action committees or employees have donated to Republicans. Point Bridge Capital, the Fort Worth, Texas-based wealth manager that created the ETF, selected companies based on regulatory filings that detail political contributes.
“Money matters in politics,” Point Bridge Capital founder and CEO Hal Lambert told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney during a recent interview on “Varney & Co.” “The companies are giving millions and millions of dollars influencing elections. They’re now speaking out more than ever. So I think it’s important for investors to have the opportunity to have a difference on that and pick their investments based on companies that are supporting the political views that they want.”
MAGA’s top holdings are Boeing (BA), a major defense contractor, and Perrigo (PRGO), which makes over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
Military suppliers are widely represented by the fund. MAGA also includes Lockheed Martin (LMT), the world’s largest defense contractor; Raytheon (RTN), known for the Patriot and Tomahawk missiles; and Textron (TXT), whose subsidiaries include Bell helicopters.
There are plenty of energy companies as well, including Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). Oilfield services companies like Halliburton (HAL) and U.S. shale producers are also in the mix.
Home Depot (HD) is notable partly because two of its co-founders, Ken Langone and Bernie Marcus, are large donors to the GOP. In fact, Marcus was the second-largest contributor to Trump’s presidential campaign behind casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS), the company founded by Adelson, is not in the Trump-inspired ETF. However, Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is a MAGA holding. Wynn has been a Democratic donor in the past, but he supported his casino rival in the election and currently serves as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Another interesting addition to the MAGA fund, for different reasons, is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). Buffett backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but his company’s subsidiaries donated to GOP candidates during the past two presidential election years.
Two MAGA stocks that could benefit from Trump’s infrastructure aspirations and mining support are Deere (DE) and Caterpillar (CAT), makers of construction equipment and other heavy machinery.
Most of the major banks are in the fund, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
Large tech firms such as Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) are absent from the list. Lambert mentioned Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS) and Amazon.com (AMZN) as other large corporations that have donated to Democrats.
Point Bridge Capital plans to introduce more politically themed ETFs in the future.
MAGA is up about 1.7% since it started trading Sept. 8.
I know someone commented here earlier and it didn't become visible. At anyrate this looks like a responsible choice and it gives an additional meaning to the term MAGA.