Some investment firms are in the marketing and asset gathering business. Others are in the investing business. When a product is created and marketed to address an emotional need, there is a high likelihood that the investment’s sponsor is much more concerned about gathering assets than producing outstanding investment returns.

My deluge of daily junk spam this week included an offering for the American Conservative Values Fund. The fund’s prospectus states that it will invest 80% of the fund’s assets in companies that “meet its politically conservative criteria,” while avoiding companies “not aligned with politically conservative community standards.”

I am always disappointed when I see some investment product that is created solely to exploit people’s emotions. I am even more disappointed when those products attract investors’ money. The American Conservative Values Fund has $123 million in assets, a trivial amount by any industry standard, but still a significant sum in absolute terms. With a management fee of 0.75%, the fund charges its investors almost a million dollars in annual fees for essentially owning the S&P 500, less a handful of objectionable anti-conservative companies – whatever that means.

Last week the fund announced it had added four stocks to its portfolio, including Trump Media and two gun manufacturers. Its largest holdings include Home Depot, but not Lowes.

At least the sponsors of the conservative fund go through the motions of meeting their incredibly subjective goal. Four years ago, investment companies aggressively touted their commitment to liberal-sounding causes, such as ESG (environment, social and governance). As it turns out, however, a number of the companies were simply virtue signaling, as they would brag about the percentage of “ESG-integrated” assets under management, without having any policy that defined the term. Last year the Securities and Exchange Commission began fining firms for this practice, known as “greenwashing,” bringing actions against firms including WisdomTree, Invesco, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and BNY Mellon.

I’ve learned that it is difficult to meaningfully incorporate your social and ethical beliefs into even a modestly diversified investment strategy. And it is essentially impossible if you are trying to do it using mutual funds. In my experience, the most effective way to pursue social aims with your money is to maximize your investment returns, then give to causes, organizations or people that align with your values. Directly supporting the causes that reflect your principles will have far greater impact than any emotionally marketed fund ever could.

David Moon is president of Moon Capital Management. A version of this piece originally appeared in the USA TODAY NETWORK.