Original, independent, thought leadership

Sustainable foreign equity and bond funds outperform in August 2020

The Bottom Line:  Two of three Sustainable (SUSTAIN) fund indices outperformed conventional benchmarks by 44 bps and 30 bps; third index trailed by 50 bps. Strong August equity results not shared by performance of fixed income   Large cap US stocks registered a strong 7.2% gain in August, posting their best monthly return since April […]

Sustainable Funds Performance Scorecard: July 2020

The Bottom Line:  Thematic environmental and alternative energy funds led the performance pack in July 2020 while Japan-focused ESG Integration funds brought up the rear. 10 Top Performing Funds—July 2020 The top 10 performing sustainable mutual funds/share classes and ETFs[1] registered an average 13.6% gain in July, beating the average sustainable fund results by a […]

SUSTAIN US equity and bond fund indices excelled in July 2020

The Bottom Line: Two of three Sustainable (SUSTAIN) fund indices outperformed conventional benchmarks by 36 bps and 32 bps; third index trailed by 125 bps. Stock and bond prices rose in July:  S&P 500 gained 5.6% while the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index added 1.5% Stock prices rose in July as investors seemed to exhibit […]

Sustainable Funds Performance Scorecard: June 2020

The Bottom Line: Top and bottom performing mutual funds and ETFs in three categories are dominated by 34 funds that employ an ESG Integration strategy. June markets summary Ignoring the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that are still unfolding and focusing instead on the gradual progress made to contain and reverse the coronavirus pandemic, the […]

SUSTAIN Bond Fund Index shines while equity fund indices lag in June  

The Bottom Line:  SUSTAIN Bond Fund Index beats by wide 68 bps but domestic and foreign equity fund indices trail by 20 and 27 bps. Stocks and bonds gain in June and post strong quarterly results Ignoring the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that are still unfolding and focusing instead on the gradual progress made […]

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