Financial Firm Rolls Out Packet of Cause-Related Stock Funds

Putting a charitable twist on the “robo-investing” trend, a California insurance and financial-services firm is offering a new batch of stock portfolios tied to particular social causes, reports The Wall Street Journal. Each of the four products launched Monday by Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pacific Life’s new Swell Investing unit packages stocks in large companies that, directly or through their foundations, support education, human rights, antipoverty work, or the fight against cancer.

They portfolios can be bought and traded by individual consumers through online broker Motif Investing, and Swell will also donate a portion of its revenue from each portfolio to charities focused on its cause. Motif founder and CEO Hardeep Walia said the Swell products are the first charity-focused portfolios traded through his firm and are aimed at millennials who like to tie their investing to social missions.