As more try to align their values with their investment portfolios, investors are looking into socially responsible exchange traded funds that focus on environmental, social and governance principles.
ETF Trends publisher Tom Lydon spoke with Marie Dzanis, Head of Intermediary Distribution of ETFs and Northern Trust Asset Management FlexShares, at the 2017 Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago April 26-28 to talk about socially responsible investments and the rising interest in ESG strategies.
“Environmental, social and governance is ESG, and a way of investing where you holistically incorporate these strategies in your portfolio,” Dzanis said. “One in every five professionally managed dollars, today, is going into this type of strategy, and quite frankly, the United States is one of the last countries in the world to not fully embrace the strategy.”
However, investors won’t necessarily have to give up performance to feel a little bit warmer in their hearts. Dzanis explained that ESG strategies are not just exclusionary investments where they would only exclude certain types of stocks.
“How we think about it very differently is we like to have it as a core holding in your portfolio, not just a piece,” Dzanis said.