ABSTRACT
Public equity is the largest component of global investment, worth roughly 20 times all privately held enterprises combined. Sustainability issues are global, and so therefore should be the universe of companies considered in a sustainable portfolio. Technology companies are a natural for a future oriented portfolio for many reasons. Such companies will provide efficiency solutions. Energy is a challenging sector. There is not been much recent outperformance versus broader index investing, and oil and gas companies face future challenges not only on environmental concerns, but also from a supply and demand perspective. Companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell also have many challenges in managing ongoing global spills, cleanups, reputational challenges, again all price pressure considerations. Parnassus Equity & Income Fund has been the fastest growing socially responsible investing (SRI) fund in the US, and perhaps the world, rising to now manage well over $6B in equity.
