FYI:
Regards,
Ted
January 24, 2019
Dear WEALTHTRACK Subscriber,
Investing to make money while making a difference has become a big business. U.S. assets in categories known as sustainable, socially responsible or impact investments grew 38% over the last 2 years, by more than $3 trillion to $12 trillion. That means 26% of U.S. assets under professional management, that’s 1 in 4 dollars of the $46.6 trillion total are invested in what are called sustainable investment strategies.
According to the biennial report from The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, known as U.S. SIF, money managers for institutional investors control about $8.6 trillion dollars of the socially responsible investments while about $3 trillion is controlled by individual investors or their money managers. Since U.S. SIF began tracking the data in 1995 sustainable and responsible investment assets have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 13.6%. What started out as a niche for faith-based investing in the 50s and 60s has gone mainstream.
As socially responsible investing has evolved so has its nomenclature and scope. Socially responsible went from avoiding certain so called “sin” stocks in businesses such as alcohol, tobacco, and weapons, to taking into consideration a company’s environmental, social and governance practices, known as ESG. That has now broadened to what’s known as sustainable or impact investing, a term introduced in 2007 which considers the impact a company or industry has on a range of issues and stakeholders far beyond the shareholders. Companies are now evaluated on how they manage their employees, diversity in management and on boards, and practices with customers, suppliers, communities, natural resources and climate impact.
What’s driving the boom in socially responsible investing? Is it truly sustainable? This week’s WEALTHTRACK guests are deeply involved in values based investing. Lisa Woll has been the CEO of U.S. SIF, The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment and the U.S. SIF Foundation since 2006. U.S. SIF and its foundation are leading voices in research, education, and policy initiatives for sustainable, responsible and impact investing across all asset classes. Its 300 members represent $3 trillion in assets under management, or advisement in sustainable investments.
Laura LaRosa is Executive Director of Client Development at Glenmede where she oversees business development and relationships with clients. She is also a member of the Management Committee and Investment Policy Committee. LaRosa has been deeply involved in Glenmede’s impact investing strategies which include U.S. Equity strategies for both responsible ESG and companies with women in leadership. Established in 1956 by the Pew family to manage their trust, Glenmede is now the world’s third largest independent multi-family office with more than $40 billion in assets under management.
In this week’s exclusive EXTRA feature, Laura LaRosa and Lisa Woll discuss their personal paths to embracing socially responsible investing.
If you miss the show on television this week you can always find it on our website . As always, we welcome your feedback. Click on the Contact Us on our website, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
If you would prefer to take WEALTHTRACK with you on your commute or travels, you can now find the WEALTHTRACK podcast on TuneIn, Stitcher, and SoundCloud, as well as iTunes. Find out more on the WEALTHTRACK Podcast page.
Thank you for watching. Have a lovely weekend and make the week ahead a profitable and a productive one.
Best regards,
Consuelo
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