Original, independent, thought leadership

Divesting from Fossil Fuels and Low Carbon Investing Strategies

Summary Divestment from fossil fuels and low carbon investing strategies have gained attention and a certain degree of traction among endowments and foundations, sovereign funds, public pension funds and some individual investors. Just in the last two months, both the City of New York’s public pension funds and the New York State Common Retirement Fund […]

Investing in Green Bonds

Synopsis: Equivalent to any other type of bonds except that the proceeds are earmarked toward financing projects with sustainable environmental benefits, green bonds are uniquely suited to meet the objectives of sustainable investors generally and impact oriented investors in particular. This article describes green bonds, how the market has grown and investing options for individual […]

Sustainable Investing: Shareholder Advocacy & Issuer Engagement

Synopsis: This article explains the nature of shareholder advocacy, another sustainable investment strategy, as well as proxy voting and the more recent extension of this concept to include engagement both in connection with equity ownership as well as investments in fixed income securities and recent trends.    Introduction Shareholder advocacy and issuer engagement, which leverage […]

Sustainable Investing: Impact Investing

Synopsis: This article defines impact investing, the small but growing segment that represents another one of the key sustainable investing strategies, and broadly identifies some of the impact investing options available to investors.  Introduction Still a relatively small but growing slice of the sustainable investing segment, impact investments are moneys directed to companies, organizations, and […]

Sustainable Investing: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Integration

Synopsis:  This article explains the sustainable investing strategy of ESG integration and why it is gaining traction. In addition, it highlights some challenges and offers a framework for setting financial performance expectations.  What is ESG Integration?   ESG integration is the investment strategy by which environmental, social and governance factors and risks are systematically analyzed and, […]

Sustainable Investing: Exclusionary and Divestiture Strategies

Synopsis:  This article explains the concept of exclusionary/divestiture strategies, one of the four principal sustainable investing strategies, the various exclusions that are typically considered by investors as well as the challenges associated with targeting specific exclusions, in particular when investing in managed funds such as mutual funds and ETFs. Introduction Exclusionary strategies (sometimes also referred […]

What Is Sustainable Investing?

Sustainable investing is the idea that investors can achieve a positive societal impact with their investments. Optimally, this should be accomplished without sacrificing long-term financial returns.  The possibility of achieving these dual objectives is what investors in increasing numbers find attractive.  In recent years, a growing number of individual and institutional investors have been adopting […]

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