Socially Conscious Investing
With the dawn of social media, an increasing amount of acronyms are being developed every day. In the investment world, one that is quite popular is “ESG.”
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. An ESG investing approach seeks to incorporate environmental, social, and governance factors into investment decisions to help mitigate risk while seeking to generate sustainable, long-term returns.
Examples of ESG factors are numerous and ever-shifting. They include:
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Environmental
- Climate change
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Resource depletion, including water
- Waste and pollution
- Deforestation
Social
- Working conditions, including slavery and child labor
- Local communities, including indigenous communities
- Conflict
- Health and safety
- Employee relations and diversity
Governance
- Executive pay
- Bribery and corruption
- Political lobbying and donations
- Board diversity and structure
- Tax strategy
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It all starts with an introspection: What is important to me? At what point do my beliefs take priority over my personal financial growth? Can my beliefs and my investments work together?
Investing while caring for what matters to you is much more involved than simply picking an investment; it is about developing an overall, personal investment philosophy. I can help you define it and implement it.