Sustainable Investing

As the weather is finally turning nice in Portland, it makes me excited to venture out into the great natural beauty of Oregon.  Like many in my generation, I greatly appreciate the outdoors and have a passion for sustainability. Because of this, many have started looking for investments that match their viewpoint, and demand more of the companies or funds in which they invest.  This type of investing is often referred to as ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, as the method for screening out companies to invest with.

Mutual fund companies will apply this ESG overlay to the companies they do business with to weed out those that aren’t making a social or environmental impact.  That being said, not all filters are the same, so it takes a bit of research to figure out which funds match your standards of environmental or social impact. Another point of consideration before investing in an ESG fund is looking at the returns it has generated in the past.  While supporting companies that do good is important, it’s also important that you get a good return on your investment, or you won’t be able to continue supporting those companies. If you’re interested in learning more about sustainable investing and how it would impact your investments, contact me and we can look through the different options together and find one that works for you.