As an investor, you have the power of choice in determining where your dollars are invested. What is important to you? A perfect score on the HRC Equality Index? Social justice? Representation by people of color and/or gender on corporate boards? How a company treats the environment?
Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG investing, and Socially Responsible Investing are similar, but technically different. An ESG investment will consider all three elements of those specific categories: environmental, social, and corporate governance. Socially Responsible Investing, or Socially Conscious Investing, are more general terms. Not that long ago, ESG and SRI were buzzwords, but that is no more. From January through November 2020, investors in mutual funds and ETFs invested $288 billion globally in sustainable assets, a 96% increase over the whole of 2019.1
Of course, there are mutual funds and stocks that can be considered in relation to ESG or SRI scores. For some, knowing that their insurance products or annuities are issued by companies that score well on criteria such as the HRC Equality Index.
ESG or SRI scores do not indicate any level of investment performance, positive or negative. There are risks associated with any investment, and ESG and SRI investments are no different.
Your investments should reflect your values. What’s important to you…
1Sources: Simfund, Broadridge, GBI. Data as of November 2020. Closed-end funds, funds of funds excluded; Money Market funds included.
