{"id":8072,"date":"2022-10-18T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emoneyadvisor.com\/?post_type=thought_leadership&p=8072"},"modified":"2022-10-21T12:21:57","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T12:21:57","slug":"what-advisors-need-to-know-about-sustainable-investing","status":"publish","type":"thought_leadership","link":"https:\/\/emoneyadvisor.com\/blog\/what-advisors-need-to-know-about-sustainable-investing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Advisors Need to Know About Sustainable Investing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2020, my firm made the decision to go all in on sustainable investing. Sitting in my home office that year, watching crisis after crisis unfold, I thought, \u201cWhat can I do?” The answer was to help our clients become more intentional about their investments.<\/p>\n

Almost all of our clients gladly transitioned their portfolios. All prospective clients know that sustainable investing is integral to our investment philosophy. If you visit our website, you’ll see wind turbines\u2014you know an advisory firm is serious about sustainability when instead of a lighthouse or compass imagery, you see wind turbines!<\/p>\n

We knew that many investors were confused about what exactly sustainable investing was (and so were we). \u201cIt sounds good, but I don’t want to lose money,” our investors might think, based on the myths out there. But they were still intrigued by the opportunity it represented. So how could we square that circle?<\/p>\n

It turns out the people we work with best are those who want to do good while making money. They want a portfolio to grow while saying something about what they believe. They ask themselves, \u201cHow can I do both?” For that answer, they come to advisors like us for guidance.<\/p>\n

Exploring the History of SRI<\/h2>\n

I began studying for one of the lesser-known designations, the Chartered SRI CounselorTM<\/sup>\u00a0(CSRIC\u00ae), in 2020. I was impressed by the way the coursework got into the history and current trends of sustainable investing\u2014formerly called socially responsible investing (SRI). I finally had the opportunity to learn the difference between SRI, ESG, and impact investing.<\/p>\n

We define sustainable investing as any investment strategy that seeks to maximize return (first) while simultaneously advancing an ideal. Or put another way, it’s an active form of investing that incorporates additional data to help the investor make decisions.<\/p>\n

Impact investing incorporates giving up returns for some other cause. That’s not SRI or ESG; that is\u00a0impact investing<\/a><\/b>\u00a0(a separate topic altogether that has been politicized as of late). People often confuse it with SRI, but it is a small niche within the category and not what we do.<\/p>\n

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) are the underlying factors that can be tilted within SRI strategies. There are five formal methods within the ESG universe to tilt those strategies ranging from excluding companies to engaging corporations. Our firm integrates 29 ESG factors (or metrics) within one of those methods (integration) to build our client portfolios.<\/p>\n

It’s More Than Exclusionary Screening<\/h2>\n

Some people are surprised to find the roots of sustainable investing trace back to the 18th century with the Quakers. The Quakers eventually decided not to work with organizations that participated in the slave trade.<\/p>\n

This is the same sort of negative\/exclusionary screening that became common in the 1970s. Philip Morris (tobacco\/cigarettes) and Exxon (fossil fuel) were two of the most profitable companies in the world. When fund companies excluded them, it was almost guaranteed to hurt performance.<\/p>\n

Analyzing the ESG Data<\/h2>\n

Unlike the socially responsible investing of the 1970s, today’s most popular method of SRI analysis is ESG integration. This allows investors (and advisors) to assess and analyze the entire universe of companies and funds without exclusions. Because there is no legal sustainability reporting standard in the United States, completing this version of fundamental analysis is difficult. But therein lies the alpha opportunity.<\/p>\n

There are few finite rules for any investing strategy: just frameworks applied to an investment strategy. In that way, SRI is similar to Modern Portfolio Theory, Value\/Growth Investing, Factor Analysis, Smart Beta, Momentum, and a dozen other strategies.<\/p>\n

Major Growth and Evolution<\/h2>\n

About a third of all investing has some environmental, social, or governance factor attached to it.1<\/sup>\u00a0Two of the most popular factors assessed by institutional investors are climate change and conflict risk management. We see natural disasters becoming more common as well as unnatural disasters like drastically reduced groundwater in river basins and aquifers all throughout the West Coast. It’s all too common to see war or other types of conflict with both human and economic consequences worldwide.<\/p>\n

U.S. investors are hardly alone in their quest for economic performance that doesn’t add to societal problems. The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance incorporates EUROSIF<\/a>,\u00a0UKSIF<\/a>,\u00a0JSIF<\/a>, and other regions around the world. I highly recommend curricula from the U.S. counterpart,\u00a0US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment<\/a>. They have CE courses, research, and the latest trends on sustainable investing across all asset classes.<\/p>\n

At\u00a0my firm<\/a>, we see on the horizon even greater opportunity in this space as regulation requires that corporate reporting become more standardized. It’s one more way we as advisors can help people feel good about their money.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Bloomberg.<\/i>\u00a0\u201cESG Assets May Hit $53 Trillion by 2025, a Third of Global AUM,” February 23, 2021.<\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.<\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed by this blog post guest are solely those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of eMoney Advisor, LLC. eMoney Advisor is not responsible for the content, views or opinions presented by our guest, nor may eMoney Advisor be held liable for any actions taken by you based on the content, views or opinions of the guest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":8073,"template":"","thought_leadership_cat":[95],"class_list":["post-8072","thought_leadership","type-thought_leadership","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","thought_leadership_cat-advisor-perspectives"],"acf":{"left_sidebar_ads":false,"right_sidebar_ads":false},"yoast_head":"\nWhat Financial Planners Need to Know About Sustainable Investing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sustainable investing is any investment strategy that seeks to maximize return while simultaneously advancing an ideal.\u00a0Or put another way, it's an active form of 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