[Investments & Wealth Institute] Navigating the Myths of ESG Investing:A Road Map to Success

A reprinted article from May/June 2022
By Margaret M. Towle, PhD, CAP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, FSA®, RICP®

Two years ago, Investments & Wealth Monitor (IWM) published an article about the myths of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. When Anthony Davidow, chair of the IWM editorial board, recently asked me to write an update on this topic, I was doubtful. I wondered if the need still existed to further educate advisors about the myths surrounding ESG investing. To my surprise I discovered that, although select advisors have embraced ESG investing, fewer than half of financial advisors have fully integrated it within their advisory practices.

This will soon change. The CFA Institute “now encourages all investment professionals to consider ESG factors,” viewing the integration of these factors as “consistent with a manager’s fiduciary duty to consider all relevant information and material risks in investment analysis and decision-making.”