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Chart of the Week – March 25, 2024

The Bottom Line: J.D. Power 2024 investor satisfaction study finds a significant year-over-year increase in investor satisfaction but lower levels of younger investor client loyalty. J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction StudySM-Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking Notes of explanation: Index ranking is based on a 1,000-point scale. ^Brand is not rank eligible because it […]

Chart of the Week – March 18, 2024

The Bottom Line: With additional room for growth for sustainable bond funds, investors can expect to benefit in time from additional fund offerings and categories. Conventional and sustainable bond funds versus their respective long-term universe of funds sustainable funds Notes of Explanation: Data covers long-term funds (money market funds are excluded), as of December 2023. […]

Chart of the Week – March 11, 2024

The Bottom Line:  Sustainable funds in February benefited from the strong equity markets continuing since January, with 61 sub-categories, or 83%, posting positive average returns. Notes of Explanation: Average performance of sub-sectors covers sustainable mutual funds and ETFs. Sources: Morningstar Direct and Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC. Observations: Sustainable fund assets under management attributable to […]

Chart of the Week – March 4, 2024

The Bottom Line:  Passively managed mutual funds and ETFs surpassed actively managed conventional funds in 2023 but sustainable funds are still dominated by active strategies. Notes of explanation: Sources:  Long-term funds exclude sustainable money market funds.  Morningstar Direct, Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC. Observations: According to Morningstar, passively managed funds, or index funds, surpassed actively […]

Chart of the Week – February 26, 2024

The Bottom Line: Mean expense ratios are lower, but average weighted expense ratios of sustainable, actively managed, large-cap funds are higher than conventional fund counterparts.      Notes of Explanation: Universe includes actively managed sustainable and conventional mutual funds and ETFs, based on Morningstar classifications. Basis points =1/100 of 1%. Data as of December 31, […]

Chart of the Week – February 19, 2024

The Bottom Line: Of 75 sustainable fund categories covering all fund asset classes, only 30 categories, or 40%, posted average positive results in January 2024.     Notes of Explanation: Left side displays leading sustainable fund categories while right side displays lagging sustainable fund categories. Red dots indicate the fund category’s total size in terms of […]

Chart of the Week – February 12, 2024

The Bottom Line: The worst ten performing funds in January, all thematic ETFs and ETNs focusing on renewable energy, posted an average decline of 22.4%.    Notes of Explanation: Universe of sustainable funds includes mutual funds and ETFs. Funds are listed in descending order of performance based on January 2024 results. Volatility, which is not […]

Chart of the Week – February 5, 2024

The Bottom Line: Sustainable mutual fund and ETF investors interested in ESG integration may have to conduct research that extends beyond their fund’s prospectus language.    Long-term sustainable funds vs. conventional funds and growth of sustainable fund assets in 2023 Notes of Explanation: Notes of explanation: Sustainable funds include long-term mutual funds and ETFs but […]

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