Q WHAT INVESTING TRENDS ARE WE LIKELY TO SEE IN 2019?

Where once ethical investing was a niche area, it’s now nearly mainstream. We expect this trend to continue as retail and wholesale investors begin to question the tangible societal impact of their investments.

This is very distinct from philanthropy – there’s a growing body of research on performance validating this trend. Deutsche Bank evaluated 56 academic studies analysing companies with high ratings for environmental, social and governance (ESG).

It found 89% of the studies showed that companies with high ESG ratings financially outperform the market in the medium and long term.

A few sectors are well in line to capitalise on this trend, including credit unions and renewable energy developers. But we see it soon impacting all investment and companies seeking funds.

If you are new to ethical investing, a good starting point would be the Ethical Advisers’ Co-op, which is a member group of Australia’s most trusted ethical advisers.

Will Richardson, MD at Giant Leap Fund; part of The New Investors on Yahoo Finance