Quick Read
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DSI gained 22% in the past year by loading up on AI names like NVIDIA and Alphabet while excluding Meta on ESG grounds.
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Meta fell 18% over the same period, weighed down by regulatory pressure and a $125 to $145 billion capex plan that spooked investors.
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With NVIDIA at 14% and the top 5 holdings at 37% of the portfolio, DSI's returns are tightly tied to AI infrastructure sentiment.
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An ESG-screened equity fund has quietly delivered a big year while sitting out one of the most-traded megacap names on the market. The iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF( NYSEARCA:DSI ) climbed 22.29% in the year ending July 2, 2026, riding an AI-heavy roster that includes Alphabet and Intel. What it does not own is Meta Platforms( NASDAQ:META ), the social-media giant that many other large-cap funds hold as a core position.
What DSI Actually Is
DSI tracks the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index, a rules-based benchmark that screens U.S. companies against environmental, social, and governance criteria before including them. The fund held 403 positions as of its April 30, 2026 N-PORT filing, with net assets of $5.12 billion. Expense ratio and inception details were not disclosed in the filing used for this piece.
The fund is a broad U.S. large-cap portfolio with an ESG overlay, which is why it looks familiar to anyone who owns an S&P 500 index fund, minus a handful of screened-out names.
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Why It Is Up
DSI's one-year gain came primarily from concentrated exposure to AI infrastructure and megacap software. NVIDIA sits at the top of the book at 14.44% of net assets, followed by Microsoft at 8.58%. Alphabet's two share classes together account for roughly 6.67% (Class C) and 5.54% (Class A) of the fund, making Google one of DSI's largest single-company bets. Alphabet shares themselves returned 102.05% over the same one-year window.
Semiconductor exposure did more heavy lifting. Intel is a 1.27% position, and the stock rocketed 450.05% over the trailing year through July 2, 2026. AMD adds another 1.72%, with Lam Research, Applied Materials, and Marvell rounding out a deep chip bench. Tesla, at 3.21%, is another top-10 name.
The Meta Absence
Meta was confirmed absent from DSI's holdings as of the April 30, 2026 filing. That is a function of the index methodology: the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index applies ESG screens, and Meta has been excluded on governance, privacy, and social-impact grounds. Peers like Alphabet remained in the fund, so the exclusion is deliberate and specific, not a byproduct of sector caps or size limits.
Meta's disclosed risks include active EU and U.S. regulatory pressure and youth-related litigation with trials scheduled in 2026 that may result in material losses. Those are exactly the categories ESG indices weigh.
Did Skipping Meta Help?
This year, yes. Meta shares fell 18.05% in the year ending July 2, 2026, and are down 11.54% year to date. A market-cap-weighted S&P 500 fund with a full Meta slug would have absorbed that drag. DSI did not.
Meta's operating results remain strong. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year, with EPS of $10.44 versus a $6.66 consensus. Investors have been more focused on the $125 to $145 billion capex plan for 2026 and ongoing regulatory overhang. The point for DSI holders: they missed both the fundamentals and the drawdown.
Concentration and Caveats
The tradeoff is concentration. With NVIDIA alone at more than 14% of the fund and the top five names near 36.5% of the portfolio, DSI's fate is tied closely to AI infrastructure sentiment. The fund is down 1.69% over the trailing month even after its strong year, a reminder that ESG screens do not immunize a portfolio from tech-led selloffs.
Past performance does not guarantee future results, and this article is not investment advice. For retirement-focused readers weighing DSI, the useful question is whether an ESG-screened, tech-heavy large-cap portfolio without Meta fits the risk profile already in the account, alongside broader index exposure that may hold the names DSI leaves out.
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