Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been anything, but all sizzle and no steak. The ESG space has been outperforming even amid the Covid-19 pandemic and is actually helping to further catapult the space into the limelight.
“Prior to COVID-19, the potential fallout from the upcoming climate crisis was too esoteric for many to grasp,” wrote David Rachelson in a Green Biz article. “Some organizations saw enacting sustainability best practices within their business as a “nice to have” rather than an essential element of their competitiveness, profitability and their future success. Despite report after report indicating that today’s consumers look to a business’s sustainability practices before making purchasing decisions, some organizations chose to look the other way in a misguided attempt to maximize revenue in the short term, without a thought to the long-term corporate health and, indeed, the long-term profitability of their organization.”
“The economic benefits of sustainability and the circular economy never have been more clear. According to the deVere Group, a leading independent financial advisory, ESG investments have come to be regarded as safe havens for 56 percent of investors,” the article noted.
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Get ESG in ETFs
ETF investors looking for plays in ESG can look to funds like the FlexShares STOXX US ESG Impact Index Fund (CBOE: ESG). For investors who want ESG exposure, as well as global diversification, can look to the FlexShares STOXX Global ESG Impact Index Fund (CBOE: ESGG).
ESG seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the STOXX® USA ESG Impact Index. The underlying index is designed to reflect the performance of a selection of companies that, in aggregate, possess greater exposure to ESG characteristics relative to the STOXX® USA 900 Index, a float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted index of U.S.- incorporated companies. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the securities of the underlying index.
ESGG seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the STOXX® Global ESG Impact Index. The index is designed to reflect the performance of a selection of companies that, in aggregate, possess greater exposure to environmental, social, and governance characteristics relative to the STOXX® Global 1800 Index, a float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted index of companies incorporated in the U.S. or in developed international markets. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the securities of the index and in ADRs and GDRs based on the securities in the index.
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