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The Bottom Line: Sustainable investment funds registered a modest 0.47% average gain in June, following a strong 3.8% May increase, supported by stocks and bonds.The Samp;amp;P 500 continued to register gains in June, rising 3.6% Fueled by enthusiasm for AI and expected interest-rate cuts before the end of the year in the light of softening economic data, the Samp;amp;P 500 continued to register gains in June.amp;nbsp; After recording a 5% total return in May, the index posted seven new closing highs in June and ended the month up 3.6%, with five of the eleven Samp;amp;P sectors also registering advances, led by Information Technology, up 9.3%.amp;nbsp; At the other end of the range, Utilities trailed and gave up 5.8%.amp;nbsp; This was the benchmarkrsquo;s fifth monthly gain this year, for a year-to-date increase of 15.9% and a trailing twelve-month return of 24.6%.amp;nbsp; At the same time, the Samp;amp;P 500 ESG index, designed to meet Samp;amp;Prsquo;s sustainability criteria while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the Samp;amp;P 500, was up 3.4% in June.amp;nbsp; While trailing in June, the ESG index is ahead of the Samp;amp;P 500 with returns of 15.8% year-to-date and 25.1% over the trailing twelve-months.amp;nbsp; The performance of the conventional large cap index and ESG version have been driven by a small number of growth-oriented technology companies that now dominate the index, including Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc.

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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