Sustainable investing is set to surge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (CNBC)

KEY POINTS 

• The outbreak of Covid-19 could prove to be a major turning point for ESG investing, or strategies that consider a company’s environmental, social and governance ratings alongside traditional financial metrics.
• Sustainable funds attracted record inflows in the first quarter amid the market turmoil, according to data from Morningstar, and many of these funds are outperforming the broader market for the year.
• Critics have said that ESG investing is merely a bull-market phenomenon, while others argue it represents a fundamental shift in investing.
• “Prior to this crisis there was a meaningful and increasing focus on ESG investing and it is likely that this focus will only increase following the coronavirus,” Goldman Sachs said in a recent note to clients.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/06/07/sustainable-investing-is-set-to-surge-in-the-wake-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html

Author: Christopher K. Merker, Ph.D., CFA

Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. and executive-in-residence and co-director of the Marquette S-Lab. He is also founder and chair of the board of Water + Energy Forward, a green bank focused on market-based climate solutions. He holds a PhD in investment governance and fiduciary effectiveness from Marquette University, where he has taught “Sustainable Finance” since 2009. He publishes Sustainable Finance and is co-author of The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin