As we’ve looked at in the last couple of posts, the nature of investing is always changing. Changes come from market conditions, access to investment strategies (mostly though ETFs) that were not previously accessible and from client inquiry.
No advisor wants to appear unprepared when a client about some strategy or investing idea. One relatively new investment concept that will gain more traction is the idea of impact investing, also known as sustainable investing. This will be unfamiliar to many advisors but is gaining traction.
To this end Morgan Stanley created the Institute for Sustainable Investing which seeks to “mobilize capital to meet pressing global challenges.”
Where concerns over things like the wealth gap and the fortunes of the 1% have gained mainstream awareness, sustainable investing provides an outlet to make a positive impact by sharing investment profits with charitable foundations and other organizations who commit to projects like water treatment, agricultural projects and generating electricity in areas where these resources are hard to come by.