Workers and consumers are holding businesses to higher standards. Why wouldn’t investors do the same? As awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues grows, more people are saying ‘I want an investment that's going to help me reach my financial goals, but I'd like the more sustainable version, please’.
In this episode, Jon Hale, Ph.D., CFA, Director of Sustainability Research for the Americas at Morningstar addresses some persistent misperceptions and explains why he sees ESG becoming a permanent component of investment analysis.
As sustainable investing grows in popularity, so do the misconceptions about its framework.In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain speak with Kiley Miller, Director of ESG Investment Solutions at Envestnet.
Why is ESG moving from marginal to mainstream? Aligning investments with values is just the beginning.In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Jeffrey Gitterman, Co-Founding Partner and Creator of Sustainable, Impact, and ESG Investing Services at Gitterman Wealth Management, LLC. They discuss his passion as an ESG advocate, why he believes it belongs in every client conversation and how advisors can make it a standard practice.
What’s a great way to learn about your clients’ ESG priorities and performance objectives? Ask them! Sign up for a questionnaire you can use to better understand your clients’ needs and have more productive conversations.
FlexShares offers an array of ETFs, designed for all types of investors. Visit our website to learn more.
Read more of our unique insights on other investment and advisor topics in our Insights section.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Before investing, carefully consider the FlexShares investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus and a summary prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by visiting www.flexshares.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor.
Please remember that all investments carry some level of risk, including the potential loss of principal invested. They do not typically grow at an even rate of return and may experience negative growth. As with any type of portfolio structuring, attempting to reduce risk and increase return could, at certain times, unintentionally reduce returns. An ESG investment methodology that includes and excludes issuers and assigns weights to issuers by applying non-financial factors, such as ESG factors, such ESG investment methodology may underperform the broader equity market or other investment products that do or do not use ESG investment criteria. An ESG investment methodology will influence exposure to certain companies and sectors.
Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria, which may make it difficult to compare an ESG investment methodology with the investment strategies of other investment products or funds that integrate certain ESG criteria. The subjective value that investors may assign to certain types of ESG characteristics may differ substantially from that of an ESG investment methodology or a data provider.
Not all FlexShares ETFs have an ESG focus. For more information on which FlexShares ETFs have an ESG focus, please visit flexshares.com