What Is A Sustainable Investing Strategy
A sustainable investing strategy is any method of investing that considers an investment’s impact in addition to its financial return. Sustainable investing strategies can really vary: For one person, it may mean investing a set amount of money at a certain cadence into an ESG fund. For another, it could mean researching every company they plan on investing in to ensure those companies’ missions align with the investor’s values.
Mutual Funds And Etfs
A fund’s prospectus will show whether its investment strategy takes ESG into account.
They also typically file N-PX reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission that show how it voted on resolutions brought by either shareholders or company management.
Other resources can also help.
US SIF provides an online chart of sustainable mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that are offered by its member firms. That enables investors to compare the funds’ costs, performance, screens and voting records.
In addition, As You Sow, a non-profit focusing on corporate social responsibility, offers an online tool that compares where funds rank with regard to criteria such as deforestation, fossil fuels, gender equality, guns, weapons, tobacco and prisons.
Investment research firm Morningstar also provides ratings of funds based on their sustainability, impact or ESG factors.
How Goldman Sachs Manages Sustainable Investing
From the record-breaking heatwave in the United Kingdom to extreme flooding in coastal areas, climate change is rapidly taking its toll on our world and communities. Abigail Pohlman, Head of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management Sustainable Solutions Group, has observed how the worsening climate crisis not only harms our environment but also exacerbates global and societal inequalities.
Eager to play a role in developing a more sustainable future, Abigail matriculated at UCLA, where she majored in International Development Studies. This unique program allowed her to dive deep into the study of the discriminatory social, political, and economic forces that shaped our current climate crisis. After graduating, Abigail joined the Larta Institute, a nonprofit devoted to fostering sustainability through innovations in science and technology.
Ad A
After a few years in the nonprofit world, Abigail wanted to find a way to broaden her impact. I decided that in order to hone my abilities, I needed to understand the corporate world, and learn how businesses are run and what that strategy looks like, explained Abigail. My plan was to then take that knowledge back to the nonprofit space.
Ad B
Recommended Reading: Wells Fargo Real Estate Investment Banking
Equity Investing At Listed Companies
- What is it: investing via the traditional stock market, either through stock-picking, ETFs, or index funds is a way to allocate your money on relatively secure assets. Listed companies are of medium and large sizes and need to keep good transparency of their activities and publish public reports on a quarterly and yearly basis. Most listed companies have profit and shareholder satisfaction as their main objective and purpose, leaving environmental and social impacts as a secondary focus.
- Risk level: low to medium subject to fluctuation of listed companies performance and economy fluctuations
The Companies That Stand Out To Fund Managers
There are no perfect companies in ESG funds, either. Fund managers think of them as leaders and laggards, with plenty of space in the middle. Investors who are conscious about the environment will likely find their best choices in leaders who are making environmental gains beyond most of their peers but still have flaws.
Behar, the CEO of As You Sow, gave Kelloggs as an example of a leader on the food supply chain. Like most companies, it used wheat and oat crops that had been treated with the herbicide glyphosate, a known carcinogen. After being pressured by lawsuits and activists that included As You Sow, Kelloggs made a plan in 2020 to phase out glyphosate by 2025. Companies like General Mills and PepsiCo have also recently made regenerative agriculture plans.
A company like Kelloggs is being a leader. General Mills is also being a leader, Behar said. And now the whole industry has to follow because of competitive pressure.
Courtines highlights Michelin, the tire company. Thats a tough industry to be in, she said, but they are very, very responsible owners of managing the rubber supply chain and in helping build the tires that are going to be the best tires for electric vehicles that will help reduce carbon footprint on the roads in the future.
Don’t Miss: How Does Fisher Investments Rank
Does Sustainable Investment Make More Money
The first objective is, unsurprisingly, financial. By investing in sustainable companies, youll increase your returns, and by shunning unsustainable ones, youll reduce risk. Industries like electric cars are the future of transport, while dumping fossil fuel companies means youre immune to a carbon tax.
Theres evidence that certain dimensions of ESG pay off. One of my studies finds that companies with high employee satisfaction, a social dimension, deliver shareholder returns that beat their peers by 2.3%-3.8% per year over a 28-year period. Other research finds higher returns for companies with superior governance and those that link CEO pay to performance.
But ESG is plagued by confirmation bias. Since we want to believe that ethical companies perform better, we latch onto studies that assert this, even if the evidence isnt that strong.
This highlights how the financial case for sustainability hinges on which ESG dimensions you consider. Every day, attention-grabbing articles insist that investing in ESG pays off. But to argue about whether ESG helps or hinders returns is as fruitless as asking whether food is good or bad for you it depends on the food.
Investing In Green Corporate Bonds
Investing in corporate bonds can be a way of diversifying your portfolio, but deciding which companies to choose can be difficult if sustainability is your focus.
Exchange traded bonds, or XTBs, trade on the Australian Securities Exchange and some of those available have a ‘green’ label.
This means the bond issuer is committing to using the funds for purposes that meet the requirements of the Climate Bonds International Standards and Certification Scheme.
The standards present investors with information, guidelines and greater transparency regarding what should and should not be considered in assessing the credentials of the bond to help in the decision-making process of choosing where you feel comfortable putting your money.
Also Check: Best Credit Union For Investment Property
The Future Of Sustainable Investing
As more investors become attuned to how their investment dollars further or hinder the causes they care about, sustainable investing is likely to grow in popularity. Likewise, organizations that want to attract investment dollars and positive press coverage will be pressured to improve their ESG scores.
Whether youre an individual investor who wants to make more informed decisions or a business leader concerned with sustainability, completing an online course focused on sustainable investing can be an efficient means of quickly gaining the knowledge and skills you need for success.
Are you interested in exploring the intersection of investment and impact? Explore Sustainable Investing, one of our online Business in Society courses, and discover how you can apply frameworks to measure and monitor sustainable investment opportunities.
This article was updated on July 14, 2022. It was originally published on May 27, 2021.
How To Examine Companies And Esg Funds Yourself
Retail investors can investigate specific funds by reading through their prospectuses. Of course, that involves lots of fine print. As You Sow has an online tool that provides more digestible information on where dozens of ESG funds stand on fossil fuels, guns, gender equality, and other issues.
To study individual companies, fund managers recommend average investors research annual sustainability reports, which you can usually find by searching the internet for a companys name and sustainability report. Companies with legitimate environmental progress will have reports with absolute goals and statistics and not just anecdotes. Average investors could also check whether the corporate governance structure has enough people concerned with the environment, by searching for whether board members and upper level executives have ever talked about prioritizing the environment or come from previous jobs and companies concerned with the environment.
It can get complicated, so Samuelrich, from Green Century, recommends investors first consider a companys core business.
What is the company sort of set up to do, and is it doing something this harmful? Is it doing something thats neutral? Or is it doing something thats inherently positive? Samuelrich said.
From there she said investors should hone in on one or two issues most important to them and search for information in news articles or on companies websites and in their sustainability reports.
Correction, 10/13:
You May Like: Best Heloc Rates For Investment Property
Sustainable Investing In The News
Previous legislation has made it difficult for sustainable funds to be included in workplace retirement plans, but the Biden administration has announced that it wont enforce a previous ruling that largely excluded ESG funds from 401s.
Aron Szapiro, head of policy research for investment advice company Morningstar, thinks access to ESG funds in employer plans is a good step.
I dont think theres much of an argument to be made for restricting these funds, Szapiro says.
Plan participants seem to agree: According to a 2021 survey by investment management firm Schroders, when participants know their defined contribution plan offers ESG options, 9 out of 10 say they invest in them.
The What And How Of Sustainable Investing
Being eco-friendly and green are obviously important in todays world of waste and global warming, but most people inadvertently draw a line in the sand when it comes to finances. They might act sustainably in 90 percent of their daily actions, but they dont put their money where their mouth is. Thankfully, there are plenty of options to do so.
Don’t Miss: No Doc Loans For Investment Property
Is Sustainable Investing Profitable
Investments that focus on sustainability are profitable and popular for individuals who want to make a positive impact on the world. There are several important things to take away from this type of investment: sustainable investing: This type of investing is beneficial for generating financial returns and supporting business strategies that align with customers goals.
Understand Your Own Values
Eliminating the negatives and finding the positives is a key first step.
Begin by asking yourself what you dont want to invest in.
What doesnt align with your values – oil and gas, airlines, tobacco and arms? You can then think more clearly about your values.
What do you care about and wish to impact social equality, clean water, recycling?
Define where you most want your investments* to make an impact and make a list to help you narrow down your choices.
You May Like: How Best To Invest In Cryptocurrency
Are Sustainable Investments Worth It
Investing in sustainable funds and other assets allow individuals to help shape the world around them. Investors can choose to pick companies that align their policies with their own values and bring real change both within their organizations and externally. Moreover, many sustainable investments have outperformed the broader market in recent years.
Disclaimer
It is vital to always invest responsibly in awareness of all risks involved. Markets can be extremely volatile, so you should conduct extensive research before investing. Our site provides regular updates and diligently verifies all platforms it recommends, but you should form your own opinion and invest only what you can afford to lose. There is never any guarantee of a return on investment.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Kane Pepi.
The Growth Of Sustainable Investing
In recent years, assets in sustainable mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have grown rapidly. From 2020 to the end of 2021, assets in these funds grew 52 percent to $362 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions projects that ESG assets could reach $30 trillion by 2030. Despite this growth, however, sustainable investing does not necessarily yield greater returns. The authors of a new book on sustainable investing found no unambiguous evidence that sustainable investing out-performed traditional portfolios in the long run.
Lisa Sachs is director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.
Meanwhile as money pours into ESG funds, the worlds environmental and social crises continue to worsen. So is sustainable investing actually helping to combat climate change and advance a sustainable society? Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, said, What is being called sustainable finance, or what is expected of ESG investing is not what many of us would expect, which is an approach to investing that accounts for and minimizes negative impacts and brings positive impacts. There are a lot of different strategies, purposes, and approaches that are captured under the umbrella of sustainable investing or ESG investing. Those terms are often used interchangeably, but they dont all mean the same thing.
Also Check: How Do I Invest In The Canadian Stock Market
Green Social And Sustainable Bonds
- What is it: fixed income assets with fixed interest rates. Green, Social, and Sustainable bonds can be issued by corporations and governments and the proceeds are exclusively applied to eligible environmental and social projects.
- Risk level: very low government bonds have a lower risk than corporate bonds
Define Your Sustainable Investing Strategies
The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance has a clear definition of sustainable investing strategies. When investing sustainably, investors can choose a combination of the following investing strategies:
| Investing in themes and economic activities that are related to sustainability | Clean energy, green technology, or sustainable agriculture | |
| Impact investing | Investments directly aimed at solving social or environmental problems | Capital is specifically directed to traditionally underserved individuals or communities, as well as financing that is provided to businesses with a clear social or environmental purpose |
| Corporate engagement | Active shareholder engagement with companies to influence their corporate behavior on ESG issues | Communicating with senior management and/or boards of companies, filing or co-filing shareholder proposals, and proxy voting that is guided by comprehensive ESG guidelines |
The seven sustainable investing strategies can be placed at the impact investing spectrum of capital , which goes from traditional investing to pure impact investing . The GSIA investing strategies are placed according to the level of positive impact that each one of them can bring to people and the environment.
Recommended Reading: Investment Property Loans Less Than 20 Down
S To Add Sustainable Investing Strategies To Your Portfolio
Your guide to uncovering what your sustainability goals look like and how to put them into practice.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Sept. 16, 2021.
Investors who want to contribute to a more equitable society, address climate-related concerns, or know which companies are effectively managing economic risks face a practical challenge: where to begin.
Although sustainable investing has experienced a marked surge in the last decadeinflows to sustainable funds are on track for another record-breaking yearmost U.S. investors still havent entered the area.
Its easy to get lost when building a sustainable portfolio. There are numerous questions to consider: What sustainability goals am I hoping to achieve? How can I pursue these goals while still seeing strong investment returns? What funds are available to add to my portfolio? How can I tell the difference between the sustainable options? And how do I go about transitioning my portfolio to include them?
But it doesnt have to be complicated.
Investors can use our step-by-step guide to understand how goals around environmental, social, and governance issues can translate into real changes to your investing portfolio.
If youre a financial advisor, this guide can help you lead your clients through the transition to more-sustainable investing. You can also explore the original paper in Morningstar Direct.
We see three levels of ESG awareness among investors:
Why Is Sustainable Investing Relevant Right Now
It might not be news that sustainability is becoming an urgent issue to be addressed by companies, governments, and society in general. By now you should be familiar with the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals , which have a deadline in 2030!
However, five years after the Paris Agreement, the SDGs are way off track. Actually, at the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Chart 2019 we can see that globally, except for Goal 8 Sustain per capita economic growth, all other goals and targets are off track. They either require acceleration , have made limited or no progress or are moving away from the target / in deterioration . There is a persistent financial gap of USD 2.5 trillion per year, that needs to be invested in the SDG to achieve the 17 goals by 2030.
That is where you and Your Green Wealth come into the picture. We all need to act together. Governments, corporations, and society. Domestic, international, public, and private capital needs to be directed to relevant and critical areas to support the SDGs. These include large institutional investors and small individual investors, like you.
In the following 5 steps, we will guide you on how to start investing sustainably and how to become a modern sustainable investor.
Recommended Reading: Stated Income Investment Property Loans
Sustainable Investment Portfolio Allocation
The easiest way to start with your sustainable portfolio is to replace your current investments with green and sustainable alternatives. For example, if you have 40% of your portfolio invested in equities , you can replace those with a sustainable equivalent .
The same can be implemented for your bonds, replacing them with green or sustainable bond. And if you have more risky investments such as crowdlending and crowdfunding, you can look for sustainable alternatives to them
Despite the growing number of sustainable financial options on the market, by cleaning your portfolio your diversification may be reduced. You will no longer be exposed to the whole market and consequently, your risk exposure will be affected, since you will be leaving full industries out of your portfolio . Make sure that this reduction in diversification is aligned with your risk appetite and personal values.
