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Fund Securities Holdings Report:  Top Holdings of Largest Actively Managed Sustainable Bond Funds

Introduction and Summary A review and analysis of the holdings representing investments by the largest actively managed sustainable [1]intermediate investment-grade bond funds as of September 30, 2019, all members of the Sustainable (SUSTAIN) Bond Fund Index, reflects significant variation in the composition of their portfolios across funds and relative to their conventional benchmark, the Bloomberg […]

Sustainable Funds Securities Holdings Report: Top Stocks of Largest Foreign Equity Funds

Introduction/Summary A review and analysis of the top 10 stocks held by the largest actively managed sustainable investment foreign mutual funds based on holdings as of September 30, 2019, all members of the Sustainable (SUSTAIN) Foreign Equity Fund Index and benchmarked against the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index consisting of stocks issued by large or […]

Facebook Holdings in US Equity ESG ETFs Shows Material Variation in Approach

Introduction and Summary Core US equity-oriented sustainable exchange traded funds (ETFs), defined as broad-based US stock funds that provide exposure to socially responsible companies by screening eligible companies for positive environmental social and governance (ESG) characteristics, exhibit material variations in their approach to investments. These involve definitions of socially responsible companies, ESG considerations and resultant […]

Are Tesla’s Senior Notes Green? Analysis of Tesla’s Sustainable Bonds

Since the announcement on August 11 and successful placement of Tesla’s $1.80 billion Senior Notes, some disappointment has been expressed by the fact that Tesla didn’t formally qualify as green the company’s newly issued notes. It was suggested that issuing designated green bonds (or notes, in this instance) would have been a way to highlight […]

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