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SUSTAIN Large Cap Equity Index Gives Up -5.6% in May; Bond Funds Gain 1.74%

Major US stock indexes close the month of May down in excess of 6%, recording their worst monthly performance since December 2018 Major US stock indexes lost more than 1% on the last trading day of May to close the month down in excess of 6%, their first calendar month decline for the year and […]

April 2019 Sustainable Investment Funds Performance Scorecard

Summary High yield and bank loan funds were the best performing fixed income funds in April while global and emerging market bond funds posted the worst results. Returns ranged from a high of 1.88% to a low of -0.4%. In the equity and all other funds segment, alternative energy, solar and clean tech led the […]

March 2019 Sustainable Investment Funds Performance Scorecard

Notes of Explanation covering fixed income funds. Results are total returns. Fixed income funds include short and long-term taxable and tax-exempt bond funds and ETFs, a total of 432 funds/share classes, ETFs, ETNs with performance for the full month of March 2019. Top 10 defined as top 10 funds which may include a larger number […]

SUSTAIN equity and bond fund indexes post gains of 2.0% and 1.85% in March

U.S. stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, ended the month of March up 1.94% while investment grade intermediate bonds, based on the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index end the month up 1.92% or just 4 basis points shy of equities U.S. stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, ended the month of […]

SUSTAIN equity and bond fund indexes outperform in Feb. 2019, up 3.77% & 0.15%

February Results: S&P 500 up 3.21% while sustainable large cap equity funds gain 3.77% After posting a gain of 8.01% in January, the best monthly results since October 2015, the S&P 500 Index recorded another consecutive increase in February. The index added 3.21% and extended its year-to-date gain to 11%, thus erasing and exceeding December’s […]

February 2019 Sustainable Investment Funds Performance Scorecard

1. Applies only to environmental and social considerations. 2. Fund announced closure effective March 20, 2019. Notes of Explanation covering equity and all other equity related funds: Results are total returns. Equity funds include all US and international equity as well as all other funds, except for fixed income funds, a total of 1,150 funds/share […]

January 2019 Sustainable Investment Funds Performance Scorecard

Fixed Income Mutual Funds, ETFs and ETNs 10 Top Performing Funds—January 2019 Fixed Income Mutual Funds, ETFs and ETNs 10 Bottom Performing Funds—January 2019 Equity and all Other Mutual Funds, ETFs and ETNs 10 Top Performing Funds—January 2019 Equity and All Other Mutual Funds, ETFs and ETNs 10 Bottom Performing Funds—January 2019 Notes of Explanation […]

Monthly Sustainable Model Portfolios Performance Summary: January 2019

Summary• The S&P 500 Index gained 8.01%, posting the best monthly results since October 2015• Model portfolios: Underlying funds rebalanced to reflect their risk based allocation ratios• The strong January 2019 performance results recorded by both stocks and bonds almost reversed in their entirety December’s declines and lifted the total returns of the three model portfolios […]

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