ESG / Personal Values

ESG and personal values could mean the same thing or they could be different.

ESG Preferences

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, and is basically an updated way of saying "socially conscience" or “sustainable” investing from 10+ years ago. ESG Investing incorporates the following into its investment selection process.

Environmental: how a company performs as a steward of the natural environment, including energy consumption, water management, pollution, and other environmental issues.

Social: how a company manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities in which it operates.

Governance: dealing with a company’s management, including executive pay, board composition, transparency and shareholder rights.

ESG investment choices are growing due to consumer demand. The cost (expense ratio) of these funds used to be on the higher side but have decreased recently making them more attractive. ESG funds, due to their screening process, are typically less diversified than traditional asset class funds.

We can incorporate ESG investing into most asset classes within your portfolio.

Personal Values

We refer to investments that are personal to you as “Personal Values” investments. These may include the above mentioned ESG-screened investments, impact investing, or supporting themes that are important to you like women-empowerment, veganism, or faith-based funds.

Personal values don’t have to be about a cause though. Maybe you’re feeling sentimental about a stock that you inherited from a loved one. Maybe you just like owning stock in Amazon, Apple or Disney because you love their brand. Whatever it is, it’s something personal to you, and you want to continue holding it. As long as it doesn’t affect the portfolio too much, we can usually accommodate these investments.