Planning a “Values-Driven” Retirement

More and more investors want to engage in “socially responsible” investing when picking stocks and mutual funds to put into their investment portfolio. But they may worry that taking this “values-driven” approach will limit their portfolio’s potential for growth over time. 

Well, that concern may have had some merit 20 years ago. But it certainly doesn’t now. 

In fact, research shows considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors doesn’t have to slow down your portfolio’s growth over the long run.  

In fact, it’s quite the opposite… 

Hundreds of research studies show that portfolios that incorporate ESG factors into the decision-making process do just as well as—or BETTER than—their conventional counterparts. 

So what exactly is ESG investing? 

ESG is a style of investing that has been around since the first stock market opened in Amsterdam in the early 1600s.  

But it only began gaining wider recognition as a bona fide “approach” in 2004. That year, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote a letter appealing to CEOs around the world and asking them to integrate socially responsible practices into their businesses. 

Then, a year later, an advisor to a non-profit think-tank penned an influential and insightful report called, “Who Cares Wins.” This report made the case that incorporating socially responsible practices would benefit individual investors, businesses, and the stock market as a whole.  

And it certainly appears that he was right on the money… 

Because we’ve seen exponential growth in the ESG investment market every year since that letter came out. Some experts expect it to hit $50 trillion in 2025!  

Several companies offer ESG scoring—including Bloomberg and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Generally, they score companies on a 100-point scale. And the higher the score, the better a company fulfills these three ESG criteria: 

• Environmental: This factor considers what kind of impact a company has on the environment. It can include a company’s carbon footprint, toxic chemicals involved in its manufacturing processes and sustainability efforts that make up its supply chain. 
• Social: This factor relates to a company’s impact on society and stakeholders in the company. It can include the safety of a company’s products, its treatment of employees, charitable initiatives, supplier relationships, impact on local communities, and employee diversity. 
• Governance: This third factor relates to how a company conducts its business. Some key metrics include board diversity, accounting policies, executive pay and compensation, ownership structure, and overall ethical behavior. 

Vestbridge can help you select the best ESG stocks to match your personal values and retirement goals. Perhaps you want to invest in a wind-energy company…or a company run by a woman…or a company that supports voting rights. 

The possibilities are endless! 

Of course, the sooner we can learn more about your values and put your personalized investment plan into place, the sooner your hard-earned assets can start working for you.  

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Your Smart, Personalized Retirement Guide

You’ve worked hard your whole life to set yourself up nicely for retirement. And you probably have some big ideas for what you want to accomplish…

For example, do you want to be in the position to buy a vacation home? Or do you hope to travel the world? Maybe you’d like to set up a college fund for your children or grandchildren? Or maybe you want to give to a cause close to your heart?

The possibilities for how you can fill your days in retirement are endless.

Let’s jump right in…

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