ABSTRACT
Sustainable investment sometimes also called environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, socially responsible investing (SRI), or ethical investing refers to investment strategies seek to maximize financial return while minimizing risks from ESG impacts. To oversimplify the distinction, sustainable investing may often refer to strategies for managing portfolios of publicly traded assets, whereas impact investing often refers to direct investment in the form of early-stage capital and private equity. Hundreds of investment funds have been launched in the US, offering a wide range of social and environmental investment criteria. Some funds employ exclusionary screening; others focus on "best in class" strategies and/or shareholder advocacy initiatives aimed at engaging companies to take action on social or environmental issues. Some other opportunities in the ESG space are opportunities to work with pension funds or other institutional investors that are managing their own money and incorporating specific social or environmental criteria in new asset classes like sustainable forestry, water infrastructure, and geographic regions.
