INVEST WITH IMPACT

Canadians started investing in socially responsible mutual funds in 1986,1 to align their investing with their personal values. Some investors also wanted to manage risk and try to influence issues or behaviours, either at specific companies or in society at large. Today, Canadians have invested billions of dollars in sustainable funds, with Assets under Management in socially responsible investing mandates growing from $7.5B to $8.7B from March 2016 to March 2017.2 Growth in the SRI space has been driven by increasing investor interest across the board but two groups appear to be leading the charge: women and millennials. Millennial investors, in particular, are demanding that their money also contribute to positive environmental and social impact. Initially, SRI stood for Socially Responsible Investing and primarily involved excluding companies that did not meet specific criteria. Investors used “negative screening” to avoid companies with operations, practices or assets that did not align with their social objectives. However, as the popularity of SRI investing increased, the term broadened to encompass more strategies.