Millennials and women are increasingly asking for investments that are good for society as well as their portfolios, according to a panel of advisors that specialize in the sector.
“Clients today often want to see how their investments can locally impact the community,” said Donna Clifford, the founder of Rainbow Solutions.
Clifford and other panelists at a conference sponsored by Gitterman Wealth Management on Wednesday in Manhattan said advisors should keep ESG investing in mind as they try to grow their businesses. They also argued that ESG does not hurt investment performance.
Millennials are increasingly asking for ESG and “I can see that this group will be growing over time,” Clifford said.
ESG (investing based on environmental, social and governance issues) investing is aimed at changing society for the better, including using capital to have a positive impact on the environment. (See sidebar.)
And while there can be debate over the true principles of ESG versus socially responsible investing (SRI), there was no debate among the panelists that “investing for good” is going to become more popular.
“It is millennials and I think women who are driving impact investing and driving it into the mainstream,’ said Jina Penn Tracy, an impact investment advisor with Centered Wealth.
Randy Kaufman, of EMM Wealth Management, said clients are increasingly asking that their investments have “a holistic view.”
Kaufman sees her role as an ESG educator for those clients who want to use their investment money to improve the world at the same time they are obtaining a good income.
“So when clients care about the environment and they are not doing an environmental impact investing portfolio, I’m thinking they’re really nuts and I’ll find a way to say that politely,” she said.