Original, independent, thought leadership
« Back to Glossary Index

Funds Group: Beyond Investing
Management Company:  Adviser:  Beyond Investing, Sub-Advisor:  Panserra Capital Management
Funds Affected: US Vegan Climate ETF
Principal Sustainable Investment Strategies:  Thematic investing, enumerated environmental and social activities
Summary:
Starting with a list of approximately 500 of the largest US-listed companies, stocks are eliminated if they derive more than a de minimis proportion of their total revenue (generally less than 2%) from products and services directly related to one or more of the following concerns (referred to a Prohibited Activities):
1. Animals
• Animal testing
• Animal-derived products, animal farming, and other exploitation activities
• Animals in sport and entertainment
• Research, development, and use of genetically engineered animals
2. Planet
• Extraction or refining, or services principally related to the extraction or refining, of fossil fuels
• Burning of fossil fuels for energy production
• Other activities having a significant negative environmental impact (e.g., high carbon intensity
activities, high climate change impact, habitat destruction), unless the applicable company undertakes positive initiatives that effectively mitigate those impacts (e.g., having publicly announced and undertaken policies upon which the company provides regular reporting that enables the public to measure the degree to which the environmental impact has been reduced).
3. People
• Tobacco products
• Armaments and products specifically designed for military and defense uses
• Contributions to the abuse of human rights or lack of robust, detailed, and independently published policies covering human rights and child/forced labor.

If a company is engaged in multiple business lines, the identification of Prohibited Activities will be based on the company’s published materials, regulatory filings, websites, and product catalogues. If such additional sources do not objectively determine whether a company is engaged in Prohibited Activities, the company will be asked directly about its engagement in Prohibited Activities. Additionally, financial firms, accounting firms, and business service providers that provide services to companies excluded due to participation in Prohibited Activities are excluded if a disproportionately high portion of such service provider’s total revenue or business activities (as compared to the portion of revenue or business activities of other service providers) is from such excluded companies or if such service provider’s services are specifically targeted at companies involved in Prohibited Activities.

« Back to Funds Directory

Research

Research and analysis to keep sustainable investors up to-date on a broad range of topics that include trends and developments in sustainable investing and sustainable finance, regulatory updates, performance results and considerations, investing through index funds and actively managed portfolios, asset allocation updates, expenses, ESG ratings and data, company and product news, green, social and sustainable bonds, green bond funds as well as reporting and disclosure practices, to name just a few.

A continuously updated Funds Directory is also available to investors.  This is intended to become a comprehensive listing of sustainable mutual funds, ETFs and other investment products along with a description of their sustainable investing approaches as set out in fund prospectuses and related regulatory filings.

Getting started

Many questions have surfaced in recent years regarding sustainable and ESG investing.  Here, investors and financial intermediaries will find materials that describe the various approaches to sustainable investing and their implementation.  While sustainable investing approaches vary and they have thus far defied universally accepted definitions, many practitioners agree that they fall into the following broad categories:  Values-based investing, investing via exclusions, impact investing, thematic investments and ESG integration.  In conjunction with each of these approaches, investors may also adopt various issuer engagement procedures and proxy voting practices.  That said, sustainable investing approaches will continue to evolve.

In addition to periodic updates regarding sustainable investing and how this form of investing is evolving, investors and financial intermediaries interested in implementing a sustainable investing approach will also find source materials that cover basic investing themes as well as asset allocation tactics.

Inesting ideas

Thoughts and ideas targeting sustainable investing strategies executed through various registered and non-registered sustainable investment funds and products such as mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), closed-end funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). Coverage extends to investment management firms as well as fund groups. 

Independent source for sustainable investment management company research, analysis, opinions and sustainable fund disclosure assessments