Worried About Geopolitics? We've Got An ETF For That

Editorial Staff

31 March 2025

Westwood Holdings Group has launched an exchange-traded fund that limits exposure to authoritarian regimes while staying diversified – an important consideration in light of geopolitical trends.

Westwood, a US investment and wealth management firm, has rolled out the Westwood LBRTY Global Equity ETF , which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The ETF employs TOBAM’s “LBRTY” methodology, an approach that generates returns by systematically cutting exposure to companies that can be subjected to the economically irrational, unpredictable and corrupt behavior of autocratic governments. TOBAM about autocracy risk here.)

The TOBAM approach draws on different streams of data from sources to curb direct and indirect exposure to authoritarian countries, such as China and Russia. Unlike traditional exclusion strategies, this methodology provides a more comprehensive assessment than just removing a country from the investible universe, Westwood said in a statement.

The approach operates on two levels: at the country level, it excludes stocks listed in nations that lack democratic governance, an independent judiciary and strong civil liberties; at the stock level, it prioritizes companies listed in democratic countries with minimal reliance on authoritarian regimes.

“Investors are increasingly seeking solutions that solve for the interconnected nature of global economies. BFRE works to minimize direct and indirect exposure to authoritarian regimes while aligning with investor’s goals and objectives,” Greg Behar, head of managed investment solutions at Westwood, said.

Yves Choueifaty , CEO of TOBAM, added: “BFRE is backed by a wealth of academic research proving the economic superiority of democratic countries. It leverages this research to build sophisticated portfolios designed to improve the long-term risk-reward of our investors by mitigating their exposure to autocratic governments that are prone to destroy value creation.”