Sustainable Investing
Sustainable investing
For decades, the primary goal of having an investment portfolio has generally been to provide for the financial security of you and your family. In more recent years, a growing chorus of people want to have their nest egg serve an even greater purpose. The goal of Sustainable Investing is to have a positive impact in three particular areas – Environmental, Social and Governance (or “ESG”).
Environmental
Many shareholders that care about the well-being of the planet are now looking closer to make sure the companies they invest in share their concerns for the Environment. This includes assessing the impact a company has on clean air and water, energy efficiency, climate change as well reducing the depletion of our natural resources.
Social
The Social component of ESG investing involves assessing how well a company protects the safety and equitable treatment of their employees as well as workers in their supply chain. In addition, evaluating a company for their level of support in their communities as well as the extent to which they provide for the security and privacy of personal data has also become a higher priority for many investors.
Governance
Leadership of a company begins at the top. Having executives and a board of directors that hold themselves to a high standard when it comes to things like executive compensation, business ethics and board diversity are increasingly demanded by investors.
This all sounds good but how do we apply these principles when it comes to portfolio design?
There are now established metrics to assess whether a business is meeting the needs of society as well as of its shareholders. Data is now readily available that provides for the “Sustainability Index” of most publicly traded companies. Balancing these metrics with things like investment performance and tax efficiency completes the portfolio design process. While past performance cannot guarantee future results, we believe the approach we use will serve you well over the long-term.