Client Experience
Sustainable Investing
It is possible to gain a competitive advantage through responsible investment.
No one wants to sacrifice performance or price when choosing investments, yet aligning your values to the companies you invest in is important to you. There is a reason that sustainable investing, or Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), is gaining popularity. Through employing a SRI, or Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategy, investors at all levels are able to pursue their goals while reflecting their values in their portfolio.
What is Sustainable Investing?
Beyond avoiding investments in unethical companies, building SRI and ESG portfolios are proactive ways to support companies making a positive impact on the world and potentially manage risk.
SRI is a process of examining the nature of the business a company conducts, the company’s values, and other aspects of a company such as what products it sells. Integrating ESG investing standards into a portfolio further examines a company’s operations by using a set of socially conscious criteria to screen investments. ESG portfolios are constructed by layering this evaluation of the long-term impact a business has on society, the environment and the performance of the business itself on-top of traditional investment analysis.
Investors commonly seek out firms that engage in social justice or environmental sustainability, such as companies in the alternative energy industry, or companies that support human or animal rights, equal employment opportunities and other justices. Another SRI option is to avoid investing in companies that partake in practices that contradict your values. SRI is as unique as your individual values and our job is to work with you to find intelligent investments that reflect your values and beliefs.
SRI and ESG investing can also be viewed as a risk management tool. Through screening out investments that are detrimental to society, or have poor governance practices, investors may avoid potential negative impacts of increased regulatory scrutiny, or scandals resulting from poor corporate behavior.
How to Invest Sustainably with Shepherd
Let us help you help the world.
Shepherd Financial Partners understands your values lead your life, and therefore have a place in your investment strategy. If SRI or ESG investments are of interest, talk with your advisor about how we can implement both active and passive approaches into your portfolio. We can create investment portfolio strategies aligned with your goals that meet socially responsible criteria while still adhering to our firm’s global process for investment management and risk management.