A fund and an ETF that invest in animal welfare
20 OCT, 2025
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
Sustainable investment takes a step further. After years focusing on energy transition and gender equality, animal welfare begins to make its way as a new dimension within ESG strategies. Some thematic funds —both active and passive— are betting on companies that promote more ethical practices in food production, product testing or biodiversity conservation. A trend still niche, but with growing interest among investors looking to combine purpose and profitability.
Given that more and more attention is paid to companies that advocate for the welfare and health of animals, in this article we show you an investment fund and an ETF that invest in animal welfare. We analyze their characteristics, returns and main companies in the portfolio.
Funds that invest in companies focused on animal health
Allianz Pet and Animal Wellbeing
| ISIN | LU1931536152 |
| Category | Other Equity |
| Currency | EUR |
| Manager | Allianz Global Investors |
| Managers | Oleksandr Pidlubnyy (July 2022) and Nezhla Mehmed (April 2024) |
| YTD Return | -4.41% |
| 3-year Return | +1.46% |
The Allianz Pet and Animal Wellbeing fund, managed by Allianz Global Investors, has established itself as a thematic product within the universe of global equities, aimed at long-term capital growth. Its proposal focuses on taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the growing animal welfare and care industry, a segment in expansion driven by the increase in pet spending and the 'humanization' of domestic animals.
Investment Strategy
The vehicle primarily invests in global shares of companies linked to animal welfare, and pet products and services. Under the framework of the Sustainability Key Performance Indicator Strategy (Absolute Threshold), the fund promotes environmental and social characteristics, with at least 20% of sustainable investments in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European taxonomy. In addition, it applies exclusion criteria and avoids issuers with negative impacts on environmental or social objectives.
Its approach is distributed across three main axes:
- Animal health: companies dedicated to medications, diagnostics, and vaccines.
- Consumption and services: includes food, equipment, insurance, and specialized retail.
- Technology and sustainability: highlights digital veterinary solutions and sustainable alternatives for animal production.
Main portfolio positions
According to data from Allianz GI (as of September 30, 2025), the five largest positions in the fund include references from the veterinary and specialized consumption sector:
- IDEXX Laboratories (9.41%): specialized in veterinary diagnostics and software solutions for clinics.
- Zoetis Inc. (8.08%): global leader in animal health, supplies pharmaceutical products and vaccines for pets and farm animals.
- Tractor Supply (7.80%): American retail chain focused on agricultural and pet products.
- Chewy (7.55%): American e-commerce company specialized in selling food and other services for pets.
- Virbac (4.90%): French pharmaceutical company dedicated exclusively to animal health, focused on research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of veterinary products for pets and production animals.
These five positions reflect the portfolio's orientation towards high-quality players with structural competitive advantages in the animal welfare ecosystem.
In summary, Allianz Pet and Animal Wellbeing represents a thematically consistent bet within the ESG universe, aimed at investors seeking exposure to the structural trend of increasing spending on animal health and welfare, with active management and a bias towards high-quality and sustainable growth companies.
ProShares Pet Care ETF
| ISIN | US74348A1455 |
| Category | US Fund Miscellaneous Sector |
| Currency | EUR |
| Manager | ProShares |
| Managers | Alexander V. Ilyasov (August 202) and Eric C. Silverthorne (March 2023) |
| YTD Return | +3.63% |
| 3-Year Return | +8.95% |
The ProShares Pet Care ETF (PAWZ), managed by ProShare Advisors, is a US-based exchange-traded fund that offers diversified exposure to the growing global animal care and welfare industry, a sector that has shown sustained structural growth in recent years thanks to increased pet spending and the expansion of veterinary services.
Investment Strategy
Launched in November 2018, this ETF replicates the behavior of the FactSet Pet Care Index, an index composed of companies that derive a significant portion of their revenue from the pet care sector. The fund primarily invests in physical securities, thus offering direct participation in the index companies.
By policy, it invests at least 80% of its assets in securities that are part of the index, including firms dedicated to animal health, food, veterinary insurance, pharmaceutical products, and specialized retail chains.
The expense ratio is around 0.50% per year, a competitive level within the universe of thematic ETFs. Its strategy seeks to capture both the organic growth of the sector and the consolidation of leading companies as pet spending becomes a sustained global trend.
Main portfolio positions
The ProShares Pet Care ETF has a high exposure to the health (37.25%), discretionary consumption (29.36%) and basic consumption (24.16%) sectors. These figures reflect its balance between medical innovation, pet consumer products, and specialized services.
According to Morningstar data (as of October 15, 2025), among the five largest positions of the ETF are several emblematic companies of the sector:
- Chewy (11.15%): an American e-commerce company specialized in selling food and other services for pets.
- IDEXX Laboratories (10.15%): specialized in veterinary diagnostics and software solutions for clinics.
- Zoetis (9.76%): a global leader in animal health, supplying pharmaceutical products and vaccines for pets and farm animals.
- Freshpet (9.57%): dedicated to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of natural and fresh pet food, mainly for dogs and cats.
- Pet Valu (6.75%): a company dedicated to the distribution and sale of pet products.
These companies enjoy a dominant position due to their scale and geographical diversification.
In conclusion, the ProShares Pet Care ETF positions itself as an effective tool for investors who wish to participate in the structural growth of the pet care sector in a passive and diversified manner. Its focus on health, consumer, and animal service companies makes it an attractive vehicle for those seeking exposure to a theme of high resilience and potential for sustained global expansion.
