Goldman’s Steve Sachs On JUST Mission

Steve Sachs, Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs met with Julie Cooling, Founder & CEO, RIA Channel to discuss the mission behind their ESG ETF, JUST. The partnership between Goldman Sachs and JUST Capital was a “happy accident,” says Sachs. Paul Jones, founder of the not-for-profit JUST Capital, spoke off-handily on a panel about his passion for changing corporate America, and it peaked the interest of the  Goldman Sach’s leadership team right away. The core idea of leveraging capital markets to encourage corporate America to behave in a better way, ultimately evolved into the ETF: JUST. Since launching in June of 2018, JUST has already gathered over $200 million in assets.  The ESG ETF gives annual surveys to gauge what the American people care most about. Fair pay, how the company treats the environment, and the community weigh in as some of the most important themes. The stock selection, starting with the top half of the Russell 1000, screens by 110 data points, 76 metrics, and seeks to be very benchmark aware. At the portfolio level, holdings present companies that on average, create more jobs, pay their workers a comparatively higher wage, recycle, and deliver a higher return on equity.