Original, independent, thought leadership

Chart of the Week – August 12, 2024: Sustainable index tracking ETFs with the lowest expense ratios

The Bottom Line:  The lowest expense ratio index tracking sustainable ETFs largely pursue an ESG screening strategy with exclusions, followed by funds with climate-oriented objectives. Notes of explanation: Sources: Morningstar Direct, fund prospectuses and Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC. Observations: • Passively managed sustainable ETFs with the lowest expense ratios largely consist of equity-oriented funds […]

Chart of the Week – August 5, 2024: Green bond funds should benefit from lower rates

Chart of the Week August 5th 2024

The Bottom Line:  A declining rate environment should continue to favor conventional and sustainable bond funds, including green bond funds, especially with longer weighted maturities.    Notes of explanation: Funds listed in order of portfolio weighted average maturities (WAM), as of June 30, 2024. Carbon Collective Short Duration Green Bond ETF WAM is not available; […]

Chart of the Week – July 29, 2024: Small-cap sustainable funds revisited

Chart of the Week July 2024

The Bottom Line:  A limited number of focused sustainable small-cap blended funds is available to investors in pursuit of exposure to the recent market rotation.   Notes of explanation:  Notes of explanation: Funds arrayed using a ranking scale that runs from A (highest ranking) to D (lowest ranking) based on a screening and evaluation methodology […]

Chart of the Week – July 22, 2024: Sustainable strategies of top performing funds in June

The Bottom Line:  Top financial results achieved by sustainable funds in June, as well as more generally, are driven largely due to fundamental investment strategies. Notes of explanation: Chart displays the asset weighted sustainable investing approach/strategy of the top 10 performing funds in June 2024. Assets in US$ billions as of June 30, 2024. Funds […]

Chart of the Week – July 15 2024: June performance of sustainable mutual funds vs. ETFs

Chart of the week July 2024

The Bottom Line:  Comparisons between sustainable mutual funds and ETFs have to account for the variations in composition of the two investment company types.  Notes of explanation: Chart displays arithmetic average performance of the five best and worst performing sustainable mutual fund and ETF investment categories as of June 2024 and number of funds that […]

Chart of the Week – July 8, 2024: Focused sustainable MMKT funds are disappearing while sustainable MMKT funds expand

The Bottom Line:  Focused sustainable money market fund assets are disappearing while non-focused sustainable money market funds are expanding along with conventional money fund assets. Notes of explanation:  Focused sustainable money market fund assets include the assets of funds that have been liquidated between 12/21 and 6/24.  Sources:  Morningstar Direct; Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC. […]

Chart of the Week – July 1, 2024: Highest yielding sustainable investment funds

The Bottom Line:  The top yielding sustainable investment funds, mutual funds and ETFs, recorded an average 12-month yield of 9.3% at the end of May. Notes of Explanation: Notes of explanation: Funds with multiple share classes are only listed once based on the highest yielding share class as of May 31, 2024. Sources: Morningstar Direct; […]

Chart of the Week – June 24, 2024: Sustainable mutual funds dominated by institutional share classes

sustainable investing

The Bottom Line:  Institutional share classes with minimum investments of $100,000 or mor account for over 50% of assets attributable to focused sustainable mutual funds.   Notes of Explanation: Size=total net assets by share class as of May 31, 2024. Sources: Morningstar Direct; Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC.   Focused sustainable mutual funds are dominated by institutional investors […]

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