Introduction to socially responsible investing
Socially responsible investing is an effective way to build your wealth over the long term. Whether you want the means to buy your dream house, retire in luxury or give your grandchildren a better start in life, responsible investments can help you achieve your long-term financial goals. This is about investing in progressive companies who are helping to solve the world’s biggest challenges, such as social inequality, and recognising these same companies are perhaps the best positioned to thrive in the future.
Download our socially responsible investing eBookWhat are socially responsible investments?
Socially responsible investing is a sustainable investment approach focused on using your money to generate profit while also having a positive impact on social issues, such as social inequality and global warming, the latter of which impacts vulnerable communities around the world.
When you make socially responsible investments, you normally invest your money into a fund comprising different companies, selected because of their ability to generate long-term financial returns and for their positive impact on social issues.
A fund is one of the most popular and easy ways to invest. They are an investment where many investors pool their monies and invest in different types of assets, including bonds, shares and property. Funds are run by a manager, who works on behalf of all investors to oversee the fund’s investment strategy and trading activities. Finding a socially responsible fund that meets your own personal objectives and circumstances is the job of a financial adviser.
Why should you make responsible investments?
Socially responsible investing helps you support the causes you care about, from improving social mobility to protecting vulnerable communities at risk from climate change. You can dictate which problems you want to help tackle by considering the sectors and types of companies you want to support. For example, you could be putting your money into organisations like Visa Inc, which is focused on driving financial inclusion for everyone everywhere.
That’s not to say that socially responsible investing isn’t focused on making money. As with any form of investing, it’s about using your money to generate a profit.
Make an impact
There are also reasons to believe that socially responsible organisations are primed to perform well in the future. This is due to a myriad of factors. For instance, responsible businesses tend to have:
• a stronger competitive advantage
• increased customer loyalty
• reduced operational costs
• access to new growth opportunities
Changing consumer behaviours, government funding, reduced energy waste and better governance are just some of the reasons why established responsible businesses are reaping these benefits. This points toward a bright future for such organisations, which gives us reason to believe that socially responsible investments may perform increasingly well in the future.
How do you make responsible investments?
It depends on your financial objectives and the strength of your values. If you have strong values, you can screen against social and environmental factors to make sure the funds you invest in are aligned to your moral beliefs.
You might use negative screening to do this, which can be used to exclude specific businesses and industries from your responsible investment portfolio. For example, you could exclude businesses that have a negative impact on people’s health, such as fast food chains or tobacco companies.
Another approach is positive screening, which can be used to include businesses in your portfolio based on what you care about the most, such as tackling social inequality. In which case, you would use positive screening to find companies that are helping people who are disadvantaged through their activities and policies.
If your priority is to make a profit, socially responsible investments can still help you achieve your financial goals. Established responsible businesses are primed to be successful in the future. And you can also invest in socially responsible funds alongside more traditional funds to hedge against other areas in the market that may not be doing well, helping you manage risk.
Why use a financial adviser?
Making a socially responsible investment without a financial adviser is like completing a complicated divorce without a lawyer. The process requires many hours of in-depth research and a high level of technical expertise and experience.
At Chase de Vere, our independent advisers cut through the complexity of socially responsible investing, securing a rewarding financial future for you and your loved ones. They provide a highly proactive and responsive service that helps you:
• Understand what you want from responsible investments
• Respond rapidly to market changes
• Identify greenwashing and react accordingly
• Ensure your portfolio stays profitable
• Build your wealth while igniting positive progress
Achieve your financial and beneficent goals seamlessly. Along the way, build a rewarding relationship that can last across generations. With Chase de Vere, a positive and impactful financial future is yours for the taking.
Our process
Understand priorities
We’ll help you identify what you want out of socially responsible investing by asking you specific questions about your financial and ethical goals. This will help us define your investment style and the type of service you need.
Identify funds
We’ll spend time researching the best socially responsible investments to go in your portfolio based on your preferences. Each fund undergoes regulatory and compliance checks for greenwashing and risk assessment.
Portfolio creation
Gain a responsible investment portfolio containing best of breed funds. You can manage your portfolio as much or as little as you like depending on your service preferences.
Ongoing support
We can keep you updated on your portfolio’s performance via regular reports. Stay in the loop with essential information, including a current valuation, Performance Commentaries and Portfolio Change notifications.