Recent survey results show Americans, especially younger ones, are integrating socially responsible investing. A sustainable investor preferences questionnaire can help formalize an investor’s sustainability preferences.
The Bottom Line: The largest 50 sustainable funds represent a good starting point for identifying and evaluating candidates for a diversified investment portfolio’s core positions.
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.
The Bottom Line: Investors seeking to hire a financial advisor should interview multiple advisors before deciding and prepare a set of core questions in advance.
The Bottom Line: A number of the largest ten sustainable investment funds can each serve as a sustainable investment portfolio’s anchor equity or bond position.Largest sustainable mutual funds and ETFs as of November 30, 2023, with trailing 12-month performance resultsNotes of Explanation: Total net assets combine all share classes. For mutual funds, trailing 12-month returns apply to the largest share class. Sources: Morningstar Direct, Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC.Largest sustainable mutual funds and ETFs going into 2024 can serve in anchor positions The largest sustainable mutual funds and ETFs going into 2024, based on total net assets as of November 30, 2023, include a diverse group of funds that, with one exception, can each serve as a sustainable investment portfolio’s anchor equity position or, in one other case, a fixed income investment option. The top 10 funds manage $102.9 billion in assets, accounting for some 31% of the $326.9 billion in sustainable fund assets at the end of November 2023. They are managed by seven different firms and include domestic equity, one international fund and one fixed income fund. These funds also consist of index funds and actively managed funds as well as funds that pursue varying fundamental investing and sustainable investing approaches.
The bottom line: July’s sustainable fixed income fund performance results were largely aligned with year-to-date 2023 returns in that riskier assets continued their strong performance.
The Bottom Line: ESG investing has morphed from ESG integration to encapsulate socially responsible investing considerations. Lack of standards has led to widespread misunderstanding and confusion.
Sustainable investors can establish cost-effective diversified portfolios of funds that pursue an ESG Integration investing approach aligned with their financial profile and risk tolerance (1).
The Bottom Line: Six qualifying funds available for investors seeking a sustainable large-cap blended index mutual fund or ETF investment option to serve as an anchor position in a sustainable investment portfolio.
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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.
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.
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.
