Banat said there was no one-size-fits-all choice when it comes to socially responsible investing.
“We at RBC believe it is possible to invest in a responsible way in the broadest sense of the word, across the full asset allocation spectrum,” she said.
But Banat eschews the term “public policy” when it comes to investing in government programs.
“It politicizes the investment,” she said.
Banat asserted that responsible investing does not mean losing out on discretionary return. In fact, she said, over the long term, it adds value to a portfolio.
“We honestly believe you can combine doing well with doing good,” she said. “The idea is to help people take advantage of responsible investing benefits as an economic value.”
Banat said that RBC GAM bases its ESG advice on the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations when helping clients find the right investment vehicle for them.
“The starting point is to ask the client what they are seeking to achieve, and to use that as a guide,” she said. “I don’t mean to minimize the importance of the financial return, but you can do so much more beyond that.”
Banat, a New York resident, is empathetic to the challenges her city’s homeless population face daily. However, she said she also knows there is no guarantee that a cash handout will feed the people she wants to help.
“I can give a homeless person a dollar on the street, but I don’t know if that will go to feed the homeless,” she said. “I can also give it to a food kitchen. There are many things I can do with that money. But I can also put that dollar in a homelessness bond issued by the City of Los Angeles, and I will earn money on the investment that’s a fair market price.”