038: How Do Investors Drive Positive Social Change Through Sustainable Investing?

Creating and sticking to an investment strategy that considers our personal values and the welfare of the planet and its people might seem like a relatively new concept, but it has been around for quite some time. In fact, centuries ago, the Quaker religion not only forbade its members from enslaving people but also from investing in companies that profited from slavery.

Undoubtedly, it’s also a concept that has evolved over time — and it continues to do so. As a society, we seem to be growing more and more disparate where our values are concerned, and what might seem to be socially responsible behavior to one investor could be overly permissive — or restrictive — to another.

After all, the core idea of investing is to generate profits — a return on our cash outlay. So, is it really possible to get a competitive return for our portfolios while still holding the companies that it contains responsible for their impact on the global community?

In short, yes. Our guest on this episode of A Place of Possibility™ will explain how to achieve this balance as an investor. Richard and Angela will speak with Sam Adams, CEO and Co-Founder of Vert Asset Management. Sam not only has substantial experience in the world of sustainable investing, but he also has quite an aptitude for simplifying this often-misunderstood topic.

We’ll be talking about:

• What sustainable investing really is
• The nuances of each sustainable investing methodology — Environmental, Social, and Governance investing (ESG), Socially Responsible investing (SRI), and Impact investing
• How the information that ESG fund managers must take into consideration differs from their more conventional counterparts
• The most common mistakes that investors make when trying to build a sustainable portfolio and why some of this confusion centers not on hard data but rather their personal values
• Why a seismic change in corporate values that occurred decades ago has now created a far more pressing need for sustainable investing than ever before

And more!

Many of us tend to think that “doing good” for our planet and its inhabitants while “doing well” in our investing pursuits is difficult, if not impossible. But, as Sam will show you, with honest consideration of your own principles and some diligent research, these two values can peacefully — and profitably — coexist.