All of us here at Advice Matters Financial Planning Ltd have been wondering the same, so we decided to do our homework.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing – Is it just another name for Ethical Investing?
Well, yes and no ……………………………………….let me explain.
Ethical investing normally involves deciding what you want to be invested in or what you don’t:
so Tobacco NO Green Energy YES – giving you a clear conscience about your investments
But ESG goes a little further than that. ESG really wants to CHANGE THE WORLD, MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE, to paraphrase Michael Jackson.
So rather than just choosing what to invest in, it is working with funds and with fund managers that engage with companies to participate in change. Working with them to solve problems and engage and influence companies and countries to do more. It is investing for a better future.
This year, 2020, has been a very unique year, an understatement if there ever was one, and we know it will alter the world in many ways. There are many movements for change and it is the younger generations driving this, wanting their money to power change.
ESG is now becoming part of the DNA of how companies do business and most large financial companies now have good policy around this. It is always a work in progress and will continue to evolve.
This then trickles down into the type of investments they make and how they work with companies from the smallest to the largest.
Some excellent initiatives have been taken by the largest companies, BP, for instance, are committing to becoming zero net emission by 2050 and even countries are making large ESG decisions, for instance only recently Boris Johnson has committed to electric car production only from 2030.
SO ESG is having a real impact on our world and on our investments. We will be looking at this in detail over the next few blogs but we want to hear from you.
Let us know how you want to change the world and where you prefer to invest your hard-earned funds.
Get in touch and let’s chat – 0113 2687928 or email at info@advicemattersfinancialplanning.com