Want To Bet Against 'Woke' Companies? There's An ETF For That

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his fellow Republicans are leading the political charge against “woke” companies, Tuttle Capital Management’s CEO Matthew Tuttle is leading the monetary charge.

And, you may be able to invest in this come Nov. 20.

What Happened: Tuttle Capital filed a Form485APOS with the SEC on Tuesday, aiming to introduce the Tuttle Capital Inverse Socially Conscious ETF and the Tuttle Capital Self Defense Index ETF.

The Inverse Socially Conscious ETF will trade under the “GWGB” (Go Woke, Go Broke) symbol, while the Self Defense Index ETF will trade under the “GUNZ” symbol.

“This is [the] same line of thinking we took with SJIM,” Tuttle told Benzinga, “We saw an issue, in this case the media touting Jim like he was a guru and we took the other side.” SJIM is the Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF. 

Tuttle Capital's GWGB doesn’t follow a conventional benchmark index, instead, the ETF seeks to identify companies based on their political orientation. In a nutshell, it plans to invest in companies with conservative or politically neutral perspectives and take short positions in those deemed "woke.”

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The term "woke" in this context refers to companies that Tuttle believes are perceived as antagonistic towards conservative values. He’s also launched a newsletter called “The Woke Street Journal.”

At the heart of GWGB's selection criteria is the adherence to beliefs such as American Exceptionalism, individual liberty and free enterprise. The converse side involves identifying companies that engage in "woke" policies, potentially alienating their conservative stakeholders.

But that's not where the distinctive character of GWGB ends. The fund also screens for companies with high ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) scores, believing that a heavy focus on ESG could distract from a company's core financial fundamentals.

The overarching philosophy is that "woke" policies and a high ESG focus might compromise shareholder value, and by shorting these companies, the ETF aims to capitalize on their anticipated underperformance.

The GUNZ ETF has a more straightforward objective, focusing on the self-defense industry. It targets companies involved in manufacturing, servicing and distributing personal and law enforcement defense equipment and services. Working on a replication strategy, GUNZ seeks to mimic the performance of the AJN Self-Defense U.S. Equity Index.

“We believe that politically neutral companies should outperform those that try to promote policies that they can't get done at the ballot box," Tuttle said to Benzinga.

This isn't Tuttle's first foray into unconventional ETFs, as he previously bet for and against TV personality Jim Cramer's stock picks. "Love him or hate him, Jim Cramer is a polarizing figure," Tuttle commented then.

While the Long Jim (LJIM) ETF is winding down — the last day of trade is set for Sept. 11 — the aim was to offer investors an opportunity to express their views on Cramer's recommendations.

Drawing a parallel, just as the Cramer-focused ETFs stirred the pot, the new ETFs — particularly GWGB — are expected to ignite some debate among investors.

The question is whether companies with "woke" policies indeed jeopardize their shareholder value or whether this is just another investment trend waiting to be tested in real market conditions. Seems like Tuttle is going to find out.

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