FINANCIAL BUZZ
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING ALIGNING VALUES WITH FINANCIAL GOALS
ARTICLE CHERYL PARTON
JUST AS CONSUMERS FIND HOW THEY SPEND THEIR DOLLARS CREATES THE WORLD THEY WANT TO LIVE IN, INVESTORS CAN IMPACT CHANGE WITH A PORTFOLIO THAT INCLUDES SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS. While Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) isn’t a new concept, the last decade of
Planner and owner of Cascade Financial Strategies, the only firm in Central Oregon that is a member of the US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing (US/ SIF). He explains, “In simplest terms, SRI is finding investments that don’t compromise a client’s values and the causes they care about, or actively finding investments that make a positive impact on those causes.” And today, it doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive to align a portfolio with both personal values and financial goals. In fact, when investors put capital in forward-thinking companies that adhere to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria (see next page), returns can potentially be just as high, if not higher as actions pay off over time, according to a 2019 study by Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing that examined 13,102 mutual funds and separately managed accounts. Investors have taken note. The US/SIF Foundation reported of professionally managed assets—$1 of every $4 invested in the United States were under ESG strategies in 2018. And investment flows into US Sustainable Funds more than tripled in 2019, according to Morningstar. “There is a way to invest where you can make an impact with your dollars,” says Jack. “You don’t need to give up returns to get returns.”
22
Bend Lifestyle | April 2020
f
Jack Schniepp (CFP®, ChFC®) is a Certified Financial
ie d
r ti
its place in the vocabulary of a socially-conscious investor.
Ce
research, vetting and examination of returns has solidified
Fin an
cial
Plann
ie p p er Jack Schn