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Basic Guide to ESG Investing

October 14, 2022

Basic Guide to ESG Investing :

Environmental, Social, and Governance investing is an investment strategy that considers the environment, human well-being, and the economy when making investment decisions. In essence, ESG investing prioritizes socially responsible or impactful investments that serve to benefit the environment and society.

ESG investing can come in several forms, like ESG stocks and ESG mutual funds or ETFs. In addition, some indexes track the performance of companies with high ESG scores. Some popular ESG indexes are the S&P 500 ESG Index and the Nasdaq-100 ESG index.

Benefits of investing in ESG

Investing in ESG presents the perfect way to support sustainable practices. In addition to playing your part in promoting care for the environment, investing in ESGs provides the following benefits.

Potential for higher returns
Offers low-risk investments
Positive corporate governance

Guide to investing in your ESG

This guide will show how you can invest in your desired ESG and build a portfolio with ethical principles. You should also know that you can invest in ESGs through robo-advisors, financial advisors, or by doing it yourself.

Firstly, you have to understand what ESG investing entails. This may involve reading about the market trends, companies that present an ESG portfolio, understanding their culture, etc. You can also read about popular ESG indexes and the companies they track to get a better idea. Some popular large companies listed on ESG indexes include Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Adobe, JP Morgan Chase, and Alphabet A, to mention a few.

Secondly, know what your sustainable values are and check if the investments incorporate the ideals you hold. People view values through a different lens, so you have to ensure that what you value is also what your choice investment values. At this point, you must be careful of greenwashing; a marketing technique companies use to make them look sustainable. Reading about companies that offer ESG principles will help you differentiate between a greenwash and a legitimate, sustainable company.

Thirdly, choose your investment route and start building your ESG investment portfolio. Like non-ESG investing, your ESG investment route could be ESG stocks, ESG mutual funds, or ETFs. Funds like Invesco ESG Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQMG) and Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (SNPE) also track the indexes mentioned above. They are examples of potential funds you can research and invest in. By keeping up with some of these indexes, you can gain better insight into what and how you want to invest.

Lastly, invest! The writing of this guide will be achieved when you take the step to invest and grow your wealth sustainably through ESG. You can begin your ESG investing in several forms or avenues. We mentioned these forms above already.

With this guide, you can begin your journey into investing in ESGs.

Conclusion

As much as one is interested in adopting environmentally friendly habits, like ESG investing, it is essential to carry out your due diligence. Ensure that a company’s metrics speak for them and that their values align with yours. With all said and done, have a happy investment!