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Sustainable Investing Opinion Briefs: June 2019

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Opinion Briefs Coverage:  Opinions cover topics ranging from hedge fund ESG practices, greenwashing, WSJ Future of Finance social investing apps, ESG sub-adviser due diligence, PE firms attracted to companies with poor ESG records and Carnival Corp. (CCL) poor governance and environmental conduct. June 18, 2019 – While alternative (“hedge”) funds continue to lag mutual funds… Continue reading about Sustainable Investing Opinion Briefs: June 2019

BlackRock’s Physical Climate Risk Modeling Shows Such Risks Not Adequately Priced

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BlackRock collaborated with Rhodium Group leveraged the latest climate research to model the severity, dispersion and trajectory of climate-related physical risks and help assess whether such risks are adequately priced by markets In April BlackRock Investment Institute published a research article entitled Getting physical Scenario analysis for assessing climate-related risks in which the firm set… Continue reading about BlackRock’s Physical Climate Risk Modeling Shows Such Risks Not Adequately Priced

Monthly Sustainable Mutual Funds Cash Flows: March 2019

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Sustainable funds pierce through half trillion for the first time and reach new high of $627 billion, benefiting from a large number of fund re-brandings and capital appreciation in March For the sixth consecutive month, sustainable funds, including mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs, registered another monthly all-time high of $627.5 billion in assets under management… Continue reading about Monthly Sustainable Mutual Funds Cash Flows: March 2019

President Trump Executive Order and Senate Committee Hearing Strike Against ESG Integration

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Introduction and Summary Two recent strikes against ESG integration and complementary proxy voting actions, demonstrated by a provision in the April 10, 2019 Executive Order signed by President Trump on Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth that calls for a Department of Labor (DOL) review of ESG practices as well as a previous week’s hearing… Continue reading about President Trump Executive Order and Senate Committee Hearing Strike Against ESG Integration

Challenges Remain but 401(k) Plans Make Some Progress in Adding Sustainable Fund Choices

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Adding sustainable fund options can have positive impacts but various issues could continue to restrict uptake While not the first to deal with this subject, an article in the March 18, 2019 issue of InvestmentNews makes the case that even as demand for socially conscious investment products has never been greater “when it comes to… Continue reading about Challenges Remain but 401(k) Plans Make Some Progress in Adding Sustainable Fund Choices

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